Memories
by SmackDreezy
Summary: This is the story of how Sasuke and Sarah's relationship developed over years of struggle. Told through flashbacks in Sasuke's POV. SasukexOC.
1. Chapter 1

Tonight was the night, the moment when I would finally spend the night with the woman I had been with most of my life. But this time was different than the others, tonight I was able to be with her as my wife.

For a while I thought this day would never come, I was afraid that due to my stupid mistakes, I would lose her and never be able to be with her. Sarah was perfect, and still I felt like she could do better, yet she chose me over all of the men in the village that she could have. So many guys pined after her, however, I was the one who was lucky enough to end up with her, she was my everything and until the day I die, I will protect her and love her.

We were married earlier today, it was a great ceremony, Sarah was happy, and that was all I cared about. I was thrilled that the day had finally come, she had a knack for stressing herself out and the planning of the wedding was really getting to her, but now she can relax with me, alone, with none of our ridiculous friends to bother us. And we had the rest of our honeymoon to look forward to.

As I gazed out the window of our hotel room, Sarah was in the bathroom getting ready, I pulled out a photograph from my pocket. It was a picture of the two of us from a few years ago, when we first started dating. If my memory served me correctly, I recalled that Naruto was the one taking it. Sarah was leaning against me, smiling and attempting to hide her face in my shirt, she never did like it when people took photos of her, even though she was gorgeous. I had my arm around her, watching her with an amused smirk on my face, she was just about the most adorable thing I had ever seen in my life. My lips curled into a smile at the sight of us, we were different back then, young, clumsy and new to love. Neither of us had ever been in a relationship before so we weren't exactly sure how it was supposed to go, but I think we did pretty well considering where we were now.

This picture triggered so many memories within me, causing me to reflect on my life up to this point, on how incredible it was to be with this woman. Ever since I was a child, she was the one I wanted, I never even bothered with another girl. We lived one crazy life together, and I was grateful for every single second of it.

* * *

"Good luck at your first day at the academy, Sasuke!"

My mother smiled kindly at me, giving me a kiss on the cheek and sending me out the door, my older brother, Itachi was standing at the entrance. As he kneeled down he gave me his signature poke on the forehead and chuckled at my displeased expression.

"Hey! Why did you do that, brother?"

Itachi smiled at me.

"I only want to wish you luck, Sasuke. This is an important day for you, just remember everything I taught you, ok?"

I nodded rapidly, of course I would remember how else was I supposed to surpass him and get my father to pay attention to me. It was time for me to step out of Itachi's shadow and show everyone that I was just as capable and strong as he was.

"Right! I'll remember."

"Now run along, don't want to be late on your first day."

I grinned and continued on my race into town, waving to my aunt and uncle on the way, usually I would stop to talk to them at first but I couldn't afford to waste anymore time. My time needed to be spent on training and preparing to become a full fledged ninja, I needed to be better than my brother and show everyone in the Uchiha clan, including my father, that I was strong and able to handle just as much as my brother.

I saw many other kids my age flocking to the academy, but paid them no mind, I was going to beat all of them! Following their lead, I entered the large building and went to the designated classroom where I would be learning all of the essential ninja skills. It was a large room, filled with long tables and tons of chairs, a few of these kids looked familiar from the induction but I didn't know any of them personally. So where was I going to sit?

"Oh my gosh! That boy is such a cutie, what's his name?"

As I descended the stairs I could hear many of the girls whispering similar things around me, it was a little awkward seeing as how I didn't think that I was anything special. But then again the Uchiha clan was known for being born with incredibly good looks, so I shouldn't have been so surprised.

"I think it's Sasuke Uchiha!"

"He's an Uchiha?"

"Yeah!"

I opted for an empty table, not quite feeling comfortable with sitting near anyone that I didn't know. Setting my bag on the table I tapped his finger impatiently, waiting for the teacher to arrive so that I could begin learning. Finally, this was the day that I had been waiting for, I wanted to learn more about the ninja art and now it was time.

It took a while for the teacher to arrive, so in my spare time I took a good look around the room to check out my classmates, most of them were like me, quiet and just sitting around. A cluster of girls had formed on the opposite side of the room, and I noticed that they were all staring at me, giggling and blushing. My eyes turned to another spectacle, a blonde kid came stumbling down the stairs and raced to the girl with the short pink hair.

"Hey there Sakura!"

"Get away from me, Naruto!"

The boy pouted as the other girls glared at him, he was loud, that one. Nothing interesting or anything that at least sparked my intrigue was occurring so I went back to my finger tapping, that is, until I heard something unusual.

"Who is she? I've never seen her here before!"

Again I could hear the mindless chatter of the girls, except for it wasn't about me this time. So out of curiosity, I looked up again, only to see them staring at a new girl who was making her way down the steps. She had long, red hair that was strung into pig tails, and was wearing a little black romper and sandals, her eyes were big and a combination of blue and green.

"That's the new girl! She got here not too long ago..."

I blinked and the girl stopped, bashfully glancing at the group of gossipers, clearly hearing every word that they were saying.

"She moved here with her parents, I don't know where she came from though."

"Does it matter?"

I noticed her face turn a deep crimson, she was nervous and embarrassed, it was written all over her expression.

"She is pretty..."

"Not even!"

My brows narrowed at the girls, why were they being so mean to her, they didn't even know her? The girl was new, obviously, did they really have to treat her that way in a place where she was so unfamiliar?

I took a painful swallow and suddenly I felt a lump in my stomach, the girl proceeded to step forward and sat at the table in front of me and by herself. She was actually very pretty, a lot more so up close, and more than any other girl that was sitting in the corner. Her skin was pale, her eyes were sparkling and that hair was a lot more different than anything I had ever seen. This girl was unusual to me, but at the same time, she definitely sparked my interest. And something in my gut told me that it just wasn't right to leave her sitting alone, and no one else was nice enough to give her the time of day.

Without much thought I snatched my book bag up once more and moved down the table she was sitting at, I hesitantly approached her, and for some reason I could feel my heart starting to beat more rapidly as we got closer.

"Hey."

My voice quivered suddenly and the moment she looked up, my entire body stiffened. Ok, maybe she was way prettier than I originally thought, but why did she have this affect on me? I had never felt like this before, especially not around a girl.

"Hi."

She whispered in a gentle voice, her cheeks still read, I glanced around nervously.

"Mind if I sit with you?"

Finally, I blurted it out and she smiled, giving me a nod while biting her bottom lip slightly. With a relieved sigh I sat down next to her and got comfortable once more.

"My name is Sarah."

She quickly introduced herself, that was a nice name.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

Sarah giggled, my heart practically leapt out of my chest, what was happening to me?

"Nice to meet you, Sasuke."


	2. Chapter 2

"Mother, Sasuke has his first crush!"  
"Itachi!"

I called out, mortified that he was running to our mother and telling her this nonsense. But he ran down the hall faster than I could blink to find her in the kitchen washing dishes, so I quickly followed him.

"Don't tell her! I do NOT have a crush!"

I attempted to lunge at him but he held me back with merely one hand and grinned at our mother who turned, confused.

"What are you boys yelling about?"

Even with my thrashing and struggling, Itachi still managed to hold me back without effort.

"Sasuke has his first crush."

Mother dropped her bowl into the sink and gasped, her lips forming into the widest of smiles, I told Itachi not to say anything to her! Knowing her she was going to get all emotional and try and make this into a big deal. I wanted to keep this whole thing a secret, I didn't want anyone finding out about this – besides, I had only known Sarah for a couple of weeks.

"You do? Come here and sit with me, Sasuke, tell me everything!"

"But Mom..."

"Come on, Sasuke! Your brother and I only want to help you, besides, this is adorable!"

Itachi pulled me over to the table and I rolled my eyes with a groan, my mother had the biggest grin on her face and I sat there awkwardly awaiting their questions.

"What's her name?"

"Sarah..."

I grumbled and crossed my arms over my chest, avoiding their eye contact. It was weird enough admitting that I actually liked a girl, I didn't want to have to divulge all of the details. Mother giggled incessantly, I cringed and grunted, but Itachi chuckled.

"He met her on the first day at the academy."

"Oh? She is in your class?"

I merely nodded and she turned to Itachi for more information.

"Apparently, he saw that she was being teased by the other girls in class and went to go sit with her so that she wouldn't be by herself."

"That is the sweetest thing, Sasuke!"

She patted my head and I blushed, attempting to hide in my tall collar.

"The boy is love struck, I think he needs some advice on how to get the girl."

"Have you two done anything outside of the academy yet?"

I shrugged my shoulders and fiddled with my fingers.

"We have lunch together, but that's it."

"You should invite her to the park or something! That would show her that you like her, if you let her know that you want to spend time with her."

"How do I do that?"

I sat up more erect, trying to listen in on her information. She was a girl also, so what she was saying had to be useful and hopefully effective. I didn't know why I was so interested in this girl but there was something about her that I had never been introduced to before.

"You could give her something, a flower always works, girls love flowers."

I blinked when I remembered something.

"Her favorite flower is a rose."

Mother placed a hand over her chest, she just thought this was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Her youngest son was crushing on a girl for the first time and she could tell that I was really into her.

"We can get her a rose then, you can give it to her tomorrow and ask her to the park, it will be like a little date. But your brother will have to chaperon for the two of you, I am sure her parents with agree."

I glanced at my brother who was smirking deviously.

"He better not get in my way!"

"I won't kid, I promise. I'll let you two have your little romance."


	3. Chapter 3

The next day I was shocked, but thrilled to see that she had accepted my rose and agreed to come to the park with me that afternoon. She warned me that her parents wouldn't want us to go alone, but I told her that my older brother would be joining us and she perked up. Sarah had the prettiest smile that I had ever seen, it was so weird that I was feeling this way, no other girl had the same effect on me. Heck, before I met her, I never really cared about girls in general, they were just there, before Sarah, I thought they were all gross.

"I told her to meet us over here."

I lead my brother to the lunch area outside and he followed me, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He didn't particularly want to look after the two of us, after all we were little kids going on somewhat of a play date. But then again I was his little brother and he figured that I deserved to spend some time with the girl I liked.

"This is the first girl you've liked, she must be something special."

I wrinkled my nose, living with him and my mother, I barely got to keep anything private and I wanted to keep these things to myself.

"I guess..."

Itachi laughed at my secrecy, it reminded him a lot of how he was when he was a kid. Those in our family were accustomed to keeping to ourselves about personal affairs, the only one who really pushed us for details was our mother. But Itachi was simply interested and curious when he found out that I finally had a crush on a girl, he couldn't just ignore it.

"Sasuke!"

My head snapped up and I looked around eagerly until I saw Sarah scurrying towards us, I smiled, my face lighting up at the sight of her. Itachi noticed this and smiled to himself, but I ignored him, she was my only focus at this point.

"Sarah!"

I waved for her to come over and finally she reached us, grinning brilliantly, so much so that I almost melted at her feet.

"Thanks again for inviting me, Sasuke, I'm excited!"

I nodded rapidly in return.

"Me too!"

Itachi nudged me slightly in the back and I stumbled forward before glaring harshly at him.

"Sarah, this is my older brother, Itachi."

She looked up at him curiously and waved timidly, Sarah told me that she was shy when it came to meeting new people. He just smiled in return and kneeled down to meet our level.

"Nice to meet you, Sarah, my little brother talks about you all the time."

I growled at him for saying such things, she didn't need to know all that, but Sarah just blushed.

"It's nice to meet you too, Itachi."

Her voice was small and gentle as usual, it was one of the many things I had grown to like about her. All of the other girls in our class had become somewhat obsessed with me, whenever I entered the room, they would scream my name and jump all over me like hungry animals. It was always so irritating and obnoxious, but Sarah wasn't like them, she was quiet, unless it was just us two, and she gave me all the space I needed.

"You guys ready?"

We glanced at each other and nodded to him before he walked with us to the park, he made sure to stay a couple feet behind us as to not interrupt our time together, which I was happy about.

"I love this rose, Sasuke, it's so pretty!"

To my surprise she still had it and was twirling it in her hands, we had the thorns removed so that she wold prick herself.

"Good! I remember you telling me it was your favorite flower."

She blushed profusely and attempted to look away so that I wouldn't see it, but I did, however, I didn't want to embarrass her more by pointing it out.

Once we arrived at the park we raced each other to the swings and hopped on next to each other.

"Itachi, can you come push us?"

I called to my brother and he nodded, he came over and began to push us on the swings, Sarah giggled brightly as she was sent into the air. So far we were having a lot of fun and when we were done with the swings we went to sit on the jungle gym.

"So Itachi is your older brother?"

She asked, I grunted.

"Yeah, do you have a brother or sister?"

"Nope, it's just me, but my mom and dad always wished they had given me a sibling."

"Why?"

I looked at her, confused, my brother drove me crazy sometimes. At least, since it was just her, she didn't have to worry about being in the shadow of her older sibling. It took so much more effort on my part to be seen by my father and the other village members. Sometimes, I just felt invisible.

"They think I get lonely, but I don't mind."

"Itachi's ok...he drives me crazy though, he's good at everything and my father always drools over him...but never pays any attention to me."

Sarah frowned at my words, but it was the truth, and I hated it. I wanted my father to be just as proud of me as he was of my brother.

"That's why I want to become a ninja, to prove that I'm better than Itachi!"

I was determined, that was the driving force that kept me going. My family and the people of the clan were going to pay attention to me and I was going to become a great ninja, I wanted to be known at the pride of the Uchiha clan.

"I like your brother, he seems nice."

Sarah said and my eyes snapped to her, glimmering with sadness. No, I didn't want her to like him, what if she liked him more than me? That always happened, everyone always liked Itachi more, what if she turned out to be the same way?

But my heart jumped when she gave me that great smile.

"But I like you more, I know you're going to be an amazing ninja!"

I couldn't tear my gaze away from her, and soon my cheeks began to heat up. She inched closer to me on the monkey bars and leaned her head on my shoulder, I sighed out, feeling a warm sensation fill my body. I felt myself smiling again and leaned my head on her own, I was glad I took my mother's advice, this turned out to be a great idea.


	4. Chapter 4

A week after our first play date, I was on my way to school, excited to spend another day with Sarah since we had gotten a lot closer. I was starting to think that when we got older, we might actually be able to date and be real boyfriend and girlfriend. I never thought I would be wondering this kind of stuff now, but why not? She was a great girl, a lot cooler and more down to earth than any of the others that I had met. I had yet to find anything wrong with her.

"Ah!"

I halted in my path when I heard a girl squeal, and the voice sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"That's what you get new girl!"

That made me freeze, who else could it be? Sarah was known as the new girl around the village, was she in trouble? The sound of her scream sounded like she was in distress, I needed to find her. So I ran in the direction of the scream and turned the corner only to see Sarah on the ground, her knee bleeding with tears in her eyes. A small group of girls stood around her, glaring menacingly down upon her.

"You don't belong here, go back to where you came from!"

"Yeah, and stay away from our Sasuke!"

They spat at her, she whimpered and bit her bottom lip in shame.

"Hey, get away from her!"

I called out, clenching my fists and narrowing my eyes, the girls all turned to me in shock and blushed, turning back to their normal selves.

"Sasuke!"

"Shut up! Get away from her now!"

"But..."

"NOW!"

I wasn't taking any crap from them, they all got the point and darted off in the other direction. I didn't waste another moment before I rushed to her aid and kneeled down next to her, once I got close enough I could see that she was crying.

"Sarah, it's ok, they're gone now, they're not going to bother you anymore."

"They pushed me down."

She whimpered between her sobs and I turned my attention to her injured knee, I felt like the wind had just been knocked out of me, why would they do this to her? Sarah was such a sweet girl, I had no idea why anyone would want to hurt her. Just because she was new to the village, didn't mean they had the right to treat her like dirt.

"Here, I can fix it for you."

I dug into my bag and pulled out a cloth and some bandages, my mother always put some in their in case anything happened during training. Sarah sniffled and watched as I squirted some water from my bottle onto the cloth and inched closer to the wound, she recoiled.

"It may sting a little bit, but I'll be careful."

After I reassured her, she allowed me to continue and winced when I began to dab and clean the wound with the wet cloth. Once it was clean enough, I wrapped the bandages around her knee and tied it properly before putting my supplies away.

"There, good as new."

I met her gaze once more and stood, taking her hand and helping her to her feet.

"Thanks."

"Are you ok?"

She immediately shook her head and squeaked helplessly.

"No! They all hate me because I'm new to this village! I don't know what I did wrong, I just want to make friends!"

From what I had been told, Sarah had come from a very different place, but that didn't mean we should be cruel to her. I tried to ask her about where she came from, but she told me she didn't have much memory of the place, which I found a bit odd.

"I'm sorry, I know they're mean and you don't deserve it, you're better than all of those girls."

She blinked, seemingly surprised as what I was telling her, but then she jumped on me in a hug, which I gladly returned.

"Sasuke, you're the best!"

"I just don't want people to mess with you, they have no right."

"Thank you, you're just like my protector."

Sarah leaned back with the smile that I grown so fond of and I returned it with one of my own, she was great, I was so happy to be friends with her.

"Come on, we should head to class."

She swiftly grabbed her bag and we began to walk together to the academy, but on the way Sarah slyly slid her hand into mine, causing me to blush. She squeezed it and I shivered, why did this feel so good? Whatever reason, I didn't want it to stop and we held hands all the way there.


	5. Chapter 5

I thrashed in bed against my brother's force, pushing and scratching him in order to get away but to no avail, he was still physically stronger. Before I knew it, he had my blanket wrapped so tightly around me that I couldn't move, I growled and tried wiggling my way out.

"You're not going anywhere, Sasuke, mother gave me orders to make sure that you stay in bed today."

"Agh! I can't stay here! I need to get to the academy!"

I couldn't miss a day, if I did that would put me behind in my quest to become stronger, I had no time to waste.

"I have to go train! How am I supposed to become a ninja if I don't go?"

Itachi shook his head at my feeble attempts to escape, by the time I managed to get my arms free, I collapsed onto the mattress in exhaustion and panted like it was the most strenuous activity in the world. My heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears, my skin was flushed and I had dark circles under my eyes, along with a headache the size of the village itself.

"You're sick, Sasuke, you're not going today."

Itachi leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Besides, it's just one day, you're not going to fall that far behind just because you missed one single class period."

I sniffled, wiping my nose, I didn't want to be stuck here. Being sick at a time like this just wasn't ideal! I had to get stronger, I needed to show everyone that I was powerful like my brother, besides, I would be leaving Sarah all by herself in class.

"It's not just about that though!"

My older brother cocked his eyebrow in curiosity, he already guessed that training wasn't the only reason I wanted to go to school, he wasn't stupid.

"You miss Sarah don't you?"

My eyes bugged out of my skull and I snapped him a glare.

"No! That's not it...I just..."  
I had to think of something to say, I didn't want to look like a love sick puppy in front of him.

"She gets picked on a lot by the girls at school and I am always the one to keep them away from her, if I'm not there who is going to protect her?"

Itachi simply smiled, he thought it was sweet, even though he would never say it out loud. Even when we men of the Uchiha clan did fall in love or have a particular interest in a girl, they still had to put on this mask of complete emotional composure. We weren't supposed to be very emotional, it just wasn't our way, and I was trying, I really was, but this girl had some crazy affect on me.

"I'm pretty sure that she can take care of herself, besides, you can see her tomorrow."

I plopped my head harshly back down on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, irritated that I was trapped in my house all day.

A couple hours later, Itachi was helping our mother out when he heard a knock at the door, he smoothed out his clothes and went to go answer it. When he opened the door he originally saw nothing and blinked.

"Down here, Itachi!"

He heard a familiar, tiny voice and dropped his gaze to the ground, only to see Sarah smiling up at him, holding a small pot of what looked like soup, he kneeled down to her eye level.

"Hey, Sarah, what are you doing here?"

"I noticed that Sasuke wasn't at the academy today, I figured that he must be sick in order not to show up so my mother thought it would be a good idea for me to bring him some soup."

Itachi glanced her up and down, a little shocked that she came all the way here all by herself, not many kids were courageous enough to do such a thing. Our clan had a reputation and we were known as intimidating because of our incredible strength as ninja, and for a little girl no bigger than his leg to come waltzing right in without a care in the world was surprising to him.

"That was nice of you."

She fidgeted a little awkwardly and held it out to him.

"Can you just give this to him for me?"

Itachi smirked at her shyness, it was cute, he had to admit, but he had a better idea.

"How about you come on in and give it to him yourself? I'm sure he would be happy to see you."

"Really?"

Sarah asked, her voice tinged with excitement but then she caught herself, not wanting to seem too eager.

"Sure, come on in."

He stepped aside and she walked right on in.

"Mother, Sasuke has a visitor!"

Sarah stood in the middle of the room, gripping the pot as if it were her lifeline because she had never been here before. Personally, she hoped that she wasn't imposing on my family just because she wanted to bring me some soup. My mother darted into the room in the middle of cleaning and when she spotted Sarah, she squealed.

"You must be Sarah! Oh my, Sasuke talks about you all the time! What are you doing here?"

She rushed over to her and Sarah gave a shy smile.

"I brought Sasuke some soup, my mom made it."

"That is so sweet! He's been dying to see you, come on, I'll bring you to him."

Sarah followed my mother into my room and she opened the door for her, the two of them peered in and I looked up groggily when I heard my door slide against the wall.

"Mother?"

Then I spotted Sarah, holding a pot of soup.

"Sarah?"

I leaned against the pillow, unable to prop myself up on my own, I was too weak.

"Sarah came all the way here to bring you some soup, isn't that sweet of her?"

My eyes darted from my mother to Sarah over and over again, and I briefly nodded, not knowing exactly what to say since I wasn't expecting to see her today.

"How are you feeling, Sasuke?"

Sarah asked eagerly, I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Better now."

My mother just about died, she was so astounded by our cuteness and left us to be alone, Sarah came over to my side, pulling up a chair and grabbing a spoon.

"You didn't have to come all the way here for me."

Sarah giggled and shook her head like I was being ridiculous.

"I wanted to, after all you've been so great with keeping those girls away from me, it's the least I can do."

She held out a spoon full of soup to me and I quickly sipped it, finding it to be just about the most delicious thing I had ever tasted.

"This is delicious!"

"My mom makes really good soup."

I completely agreed as she fed me some more.

"Thanks a lot."

"It's no problem, Sasuke, I wanted to."


	6. Chapter 6

I sat alone, staring off into space, my stomach twisting into terrible knots. Something was wrong, I could feel it in my gut, and it had to to with my brother. Recently, he had been acting very different, he was increasingly distant, harsh, and it was like he didn't want to spend any time with me anymore. Also, he had been getting into a lot more fights with our father, which was strange, he used to always be so respectful and now he was bashing our clan.

"Sasuke, are you ok?"

I didn't have to look to know who it was, I knew her voice anywhere. Sarah had come to sit next to me and stared at me with worry glimmering in her eyes. My mind was so preoccupied with what was happening to Itachi, I hadn't hung out with her as much and she was taking notice.

"I don't know."

Sarah swung her legs back and forth since her feet didn't touch the ground and sighed.

"I don't see you as much anymore, is something going on?"

Her tone was that of concern and sadness, I could tell that she was upset that we hadn't been hanging out in a while. I cared about her a lot more than I ever thought I would, my mind was just swarmed with questions.

"I know I'm sorry, it's just that Itachi hasn't been acting like himself lately and it's freaking me out. He's always so cold now, he barely talks to me and he's always fighting with our father. And last night he took out some of his own team members and screamed about how much he hated our clan and that it was cursed."

I was shaken, I had seen the look in my brother's eyes that evening, a darkness that I had never before witnessed and it was terrifying. Itachi looked blood thirsty, like he almost wanted to kill everyone there, given the opportunity, he never used to be like this. Sarah looked down for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts before she leaned over and hugged my arm tightly. Once again I felt that welcoming warmth fill my stomach and chest, it made me feel like everything was going to be alright.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Your brother might be dealing with some tough things right now that you don't know about, he could just be stressed. I wouldn't worry about it too much, everything is going to be ok."

Sarah knew how much my brother meant to me, even though I hated him sometimes and strive to be better than him, I still looked up to him. He was close to me and gave me the attention that my father never did.

"I promise."

She finally whispered and gave me a light kiss on the cheek, my face flushed a deep red color and I smiled weakly at her, nodding in response. Maybe she was right, perhaps it was nothing to worry about.

* * *

It was something to worry about.

I lied in the hospital bed, dull eyes gazing at the ceiling as thunder roared outside and lighting crashed against the pouring sky. I felt numb all over, I couldn't even feel my heart beating as the sudden image of blood and limp bodies flashed in my mind. My body jolted up and I looked around frantically, the room was dark, I was alone.

Mother and father...I needed to get the heck out of here!

Without a second thought, I threw the blanket off of my body, my brain was whirling, maybe it was just a dream, or maybe some terrible genjutsu! It couldn't have been real, there was no way! I rushed out of the room and down the hall, I had tunnel vision and only one focus, getting home and finding my family. I was so determined that I didn't even see Sarah and her parents in the waiting room of the hospital talking to a nurse.

"Is Sasuke ok!"

Sarah called out, tears in her eyes, her mother placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Physically yes, but mentally and emotionally we can't be too sure. His whole clan was murdered, he was the only one we found alive."

Sarah was trembling, worried down to her shaking bones over me and how I was doing. She hadn't been able to see me or talk to me since this occurrence and she couldn't take it. But just as she was about to ask the nurse more, she saw me darting through the room.

"Sasuke!"

She called out, but I didn't even hear her and burst out the front doors. The four of them watched in horror and sadness as I entered the dense storm so hurriedly.

I was in a haze, the rain didn't matter, and soon enough I reached the dilapidated gates of where my clan resided, they didn't look the same. And vibrant yellow crime scene tape was plastered all over it. My body was drenched from head to toe, my clothes sticking to me like glue, however, I ignored it and slipped through the tape, entering my home. The brightness it usually held was gone, all of the buildings were falling to pieces, and the yellow tape was everywhere. But still I felt nothing, it was almost like I was hollow inside, searching for something that in my heart I was sure I would never find. But I had to believe that there was some hope, that my family was still waiting for me at home.

I skulked through my home, dragging my feet along, they were heavy as lead and soon enough I came to my home, but it wasn't the same. There was a shadow over it, cascading this air of death about it, but I continued inside, still hoping, still praying that I was dreaming.

The inside was worse, it was abandoned, everything left right in its place. But there was something so sinister about it, and it seeped into my pores, stabbing through my chest. Eventually, I reached the kitchen, and as I opened the door my memory returned to me.

I could see my brother standing there clear as day, holding a blood drenched sword in his hand, towering over the collapsed bodies of my mother and father. But then it all vanished, and all that was left was the drawn outline of my parents bodies.

"Mother...Father?"

I whimpered and inched closer, dragging a trail of water along the floor. Warm tears welled in my eyes and blurred my vision, I jumped when I heard the crashing of pans.

"Mother?"

I whipped around, only to see a black cat jump to the window sill, and stare at me with wide, bright eyes. The tears spilled down my cheeks and my lips trembled, I felt all of the emotions rising within me, a sharp pain erupting in my chest, I felt like it was being torn in half and collapsed to my knees. I whimpered and agonizing cries were wrenched from the back of my throat, they were gone, all of them, and it was my brothers doing.

The one person I thought I could trust, he had taken everything from me, just so he could test his abilities. This was no dream, this was a nightmare.

And I was alone.


	7. Chapter 7

We were practically strangers now, Sarah and I. It's been a a year since the death of my clan and the disappearance of my brother who slaughtered them all. I was at the top of my class, better at ninja training than anyone else. The girls were all still obsessed with me, especially these two named Sakura and Ino, they were the worst of the bunch. And that stupid blonde kid, Naruto, was always getting on my case and trying to show me up, he always failed.

"Good job, Sasuke! Perfect as always!"

Iruka-sensei complimented me, I merely grunted and went back to take my place in line, stuffing my hands in my pockets, I waited as he called the next person to go.

"Naruto, you're up next!"

I didn't even bother watching, this kid was such a loser, he was all talk and no action, he also had zero talent as a ninja, he shouldn't have even been here. All of these kids were below me, I was stronger than all of them and I had proved that time and time again. I had to be stronger than them, keeping myself ahead of the game was the only way I was going to be able to find and kill my brother. It's what he deserved after taking everything away from me.

I had no desire for friends, relationships, or love, no form of companionship was needed for my goal. And nothing was going to change that, I had one thing in this world that I wanted, and that was to avenge my clan and then along the line create a new one. A person would think that one would need a woman to love in order to build the clan again, but I had other ideas.

"I'm going to be better than Sasuke!"

Naruto shouted, taking out his kunais, attempting to twirl them expertly, but as he went to throw them at the targets, he stumbled over his own feet and fell to the ground in a heap.

"Agh!"

He had a mouth full of grass and the whole class began to laugh at the kid, Iruka sighed, shaking his head. There was no hope for this boy, even I knew that.

"Dangit!"

Naruto yelled in frustration.

"Naruto! I told you to be careful!"

I glanced up only to see Sarah dart from the crowd and rush to his side to tend to him, she was the only person aside from Iruka who was nice to the kid. Sarah became his friend around the same time that my clan was killed. He turned to her and smiled with a laugh, she helped him back to his feet and helped to smooth out his clothes.

"Thanks, Sarah!"

She gave him a weak smile in return and patted his shoulder, I could see in her eyes that there was concern. Why the hell did she care so much over him? No one else did.

"Naruto, you can try again later, Sarah since you're already up there, why don't you go?"

She blinked and nodded hesitantly, pushing Naruto gently back in line. Pulling out her own knives she gripped them tightly for a moment and then relaxed, I could tell that she was nervous, she never did like everyone's eyes on her at one time. Taking a deep breath she took one step forward and flung them at the targets on the pillars. The first two were close to the center, but the third, she hit directly in the middle, she squealed with delight.

"Great job, Sarah! That's the first time you hit the target!"

Iruka praised her, I scoffed, it wasn't that much of a challenge to hit it, but then again they couldn't all be like me. The other girls glared at her in jealousy, after all, she had managed to surpass them in all physical aspects of training, she had been pretty skilled since I had known her. Sarah was intelligent when it came to book smarts, not as much as Sakura, but that little girl was such a brainiac it made me insane.

Sarah bounced up and down with glee, clapping her hands together. I found a smile tugging at my lips but I wiped my expression clean, no matter how much it reminded me of our friendship, it didn't matter. She was just another girl to me, nothing more, not a friend, not an acquaintance, not a girlfriend, nothing.

I didn't miss her, I couldn't.


	8. Chapter 8

"Alright class, today is your graduation exam! If you pass this you will have successfully achieved promotion in order to become a full fledged ninja. Now everyone make a line here at the front of the room!"

Iruka called all of us up to the front of the class, graduation exam, more like child's play. This place was ridiculous, all they did was teach us the same thing over and over again. I was already aware of what our exam would be, a simple clone and transformation jutsu, nothing more. I would be complete in less than a second, my graduation was guaranteed. The only thing this was good for was when I graduated, I would be that much closer to finding my brother and avenging my clan.

"Sasuke, you first."

I took a few steps forward, into the center of the floor and formed the proper hand signs, the girls around me giggled profusely, they hadn't changed at all over the years, we were sixteen years old and they were still drooling over me like small children. I rolled my eyes and there was a puff of smoke, I had transformed along with my perfect clone into Iruka-sensei himself. Not that I was looking to kiss up or anything, I just figured it would prove that much more that I was better than everyone here.

"Uhh...great job as usual, Sasuke, you pass."

Another puff of smoke and I was back to normal, I stepped back into the line and the girls were practically salivating over me. Couldn't they just get the point that I didn't care about any of them? They were annoying, loud, obnoxious, and most of all suffocating.

"Sakura, come on."

The pink haired girl, the smartest person in our class stepped forward. I think out of all of them, she was the most in love with me aside from Ino, who worked in the village flower shop. However, both of them were equally as terrible, and pretty much useless when it came to training.

"Sasuke! Watch me, ok?"

Her high pitched shrill sent a chill down my spine, she performed perfectly, as expected and passed of course before returning to her spot in line.

"Sarah, your turn."

Iruka beamed when he said her name, he was very fond of her as a student, she was always polite and quiet during class period, other than that she was really good at training and got good grades. She was able to be a model student without being a bitch or a snob. Sarah timidly stepped out, still as nervous in front of others as ever, with age that still didn't change.

Sarah did each hand sign perfectly, creating a clone and transforming herself appropriately, she did Iruka as well and he smiled. When she went back to normal, he eagerly told her about her passing and she grinned, I could see that she was pleased. Her parents had always wanted her to become a strong ninja, and it was something she was determined to be.

Naruto was next, in his attempt to make a clone and transformation jutsu, he created some limp, doll form of himself which deflated on the floor. He called out in surprise and failure, Iruka was forced to deliver the harsh news that he wasn't going to be able to graduate. Naruto began to plead for a second chance, but Iruka wasn't hearing it, he had given this boy far too many second chances. I briefly looked to Sarah for her reaction, she seemed upset.

"For all those who passed, please arrive back here on Monday, collect your headbands over here."

We formed a cluttered group to get the headbands we had been working so hard for. Naruto was left on the sidelines, gazing longingly as all of us grabbed ours and he couldn't. With much struggle I finally reached the front of the crowd.

"Get out of the way!"

Someone snarled and soon enough Sarah emerged from the mass, once I grabbed a headband, another person grabbed the same one and I followed the arm only to see her staring back at me. For a moment I felt something inside of me, seeing her familiar, welcoming eyes sent me back six years, I blinked, why was this happening?

Sarah suddenly let go and gave her signature smile.

"You take that one, you grabbed it first."

Sarah snatched another one off the table and flashed me one last smile before she vanished into the crowd once more, but I was frozen, I felt like I did when I was a kid. But as I clenched the band, I quickly pushed all of those feelings away, she meant nothing, I made that decision a long time ago. No matter what our relationship used to be like when we were younger, none of that mattered now.

After escaping the claws of my fangirls I stared at my reflection in the shimmering headband, wondering what it would be like now that I had finally graduated from this childish place. Technically, I was considered a ninja now that I was a graduate, but in my mind, I still wasn't strong enough, I had to push further in order to reach Itachi.

"Naruto!"

My senses were on alert as I heard her voice again, for some reason my entire body seemed to stiffen whenever I heard it. It was something I had never been able to figure out, but let it slide, why should it concern me when she was nothing more than a girl in my class?

However, I looked up anyway, only to see her making her way to Naruto who was sitting all by himself on a swing that was hanging from a nearby tree. He was depressed, clearly from being the only one who failed in our entire class. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I could only assume that she was trying to make him feel better, but it proved to be useless, since he just got up and walked away from her as she watched him worriedly. I grunted and continued on my way, on Monday I would be that much closer to my goal.


	9. Chapter 9

I sat in the same room I had spent the majority of my time in at the academy, my new headband tied securely around my forehead. My hands were intertwined, fingers laced in front of my face as I waited for Iruka to get here and inform us of where to go from here. I heard an annoying voice that could only be depicted as Naruto's, but why the hell was he here? I thought that idiot failed. Whatever the case, I just didn't want him anywhere near me.

"Sakura, hey!"

He called out, his face lit up like the fourth of July, he was in love with the girl and it was obvious to everyone on the damn planet. But she clearly didn't want anything to do with him, she was still following me around wherever I went, she was like some razed stalker.

"Sasuke!"

Again with the shriek, she roughly shoved Naruto out of the way and came to my table. Her cheeks flushed a deep red color and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Uhh...Hey, Sasuke...mind if I sit next to you?"

"No way! I'm sitting next to him!"

Sakura turned only to see a vicious mob of females forming around her, all fighting for the same thing, the chance to sit in the seat next to mine, as if I cared.

"Back off, he's mine!"

"Not even!"

I paid them no mind, whichever one of them sat next to me was going to be equally annoying as all of the other girls, so why not ignore them?

But my thought process was suddenly interrupted when the loser hopped up on the desk right in front of me, our fierce eyes met in a harsh glare. Sparks erupting between the two of us, I really disliked this guy, he was always trying to make himself seem like he was better than me, and even though he failed every time, it was still bothersome.

"Naruto, get away from him!"

Sakura shouted, a vein pulsing in her forehead. I hadn't even noticed that Sarah had quietly entered the room, adorning her head band which was in the same place as mine. She peered at the sight from the top of the room and arched her brow before coming closer.

"Wow, that's crazy – oh sorry, man, did I bump you?"

A male in front of Naruto leaned back and elbowed him, causing the buffoon to fall forward and our lips to meet in a kiss. Our eyes expanded drastically, his wet mouth slobbering all over my own, the group of girls screamed at the top of their lungs after a long moment of silence. Sarah gasped and placed a hand over her gaping mouth, but that didn't last long because only second later she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Ugh!"

We immediately parted and I held my throat, coughing and spitting out whatever germs he left in my mouth. I stuck my tongue out and hacked incessantly, before grumbling.

"I'll kill you, Naruto!"

My first kiss with a person was Naruto? I was for one, completely straight and was disgusted by the thought of kissing another male, and secondly, I despised that little freak! Rage bubbled within me as I had this irresistible urge to strangle the life out of him.

"NARUTO!"

But it seemed like I didn't to, he was swept into the mob of blood thirsty girls within moments, being beaten to a pulp. I wiped my lips of all the remaining disease and groaned, I couldn't believe that just happened to me. Of all lips to lock onto my own, they were Naruto Uzumaki's.

I resumed my original position and soon noticed that someone was sitting next to me, I only shuddered to find out who it was. But when I glanced out of the corner of my eye, I could see that it wasn't one of the fangirls, but it was Sarah, and she was just fiddling with her fingers impatiently. Seems as though she took the chance to sit here when all of the other girls were preoccupied.

"Sarah! How dare you sit next to him? He belongs to me, that seat is mine!"

Sarah blinked when she was confronted by a vengeful Sakura, but she merely smirked and laughed.

"I'm allowed to sit next to whoever I want, this seat doesn't have your name on it, and last time I checked Sasuke didn't belong to anyone. So back off."

Towards the end of her sentence her tone became firm, and her smirk turned into a sinister glare. As I listened to her words, I smirked only a little, she was the only one who seemed to grasp the concept that I was my own person and not a trophy. Sarah hated these girls, especially Sakura, they clashed worse than Sakura and Ino did, and they used to be close friends.

"Everyone take a seat! It's time for me to inform you all of your next step to becoming a ninja!"

Iruka finally entered the room and we all perked up, giving him our full attention, Naruto sat next to Sarah and Sakura sat on his other side.

"Now that you all have graduated it is time for the next step! Here on this paper I have a list of all your names, you will be put into squads under the training of a jounin."

_'Squads? That will only slow me down.'_

I thought, I didn't want to be stuck in a group with anyone, I needed to be concerned with myself and that was it. If I had to spend my valuable time helping out others who weren't nearly as strong as me, than it was going to take me forever to reach my brother.

"One of the squads is going to have one extra person due to the odd number of people in the class."

"Isn't that an unfair advantage?"

Ino called out, secretly hoping that her team had one more person, she was also most likely hoping that I was going to be on her team. If that happened I would kill myself.

"Well, you are all placed on these teams according to your skill level and abilities, so if you harness them properly and learn to work well together, it shouldn't matter how many people are on the team so long as you have a successful dynamic."

That made sense, however, I still wanted to work alone. I tuned Iruka out as he called out the teams, it would only matter when my name came up, and I perked up internally when it did.

"Team seven, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sarah Sukiyaki."

So this was my team, I was paired with the biggest idiot in the class, the most irritating, snobby know it all, and Sarah. I cursed myself under my breath and my body tensed, this was going to be a nightmare.

"You all will be meeting with your jounins tomorrow."

We all departed after that, once again I was left to my own thoughts.

_'I'm on the same team as Sarah, this will be the first time since we were ten that I will be spending time with her again. It might be awkward.'_

But why did it matter to me?

_'Whatever, she at least has some form of talent unlike the rest of them.'_

It seemed as though I was going to be spending more time with my childhood crush, as if I cared.

Or did I?


	10. Chapter 10

I was on time, as usual, not too early, not too late. I hated being here early, it left too much time for me to do nothing. And if I was late, I would miss out on meeting the jounin who was supposed to be training our squad, I was stuck with the oddest group of people. The two people I dislikes most, and the girl I was practically in love with when I was a kid and fell out of touch with. This experience would be difficult to say the least, I just hoped they didn't get in my way.

Sakura was there before me, and I went to sit down, away from her, as I ignored her irritating greetings. Didn't my lack of response let her know that I didn't want to talk to her? Clearly it didn't, because she was still just as determined as ever. The other day when we were assigned our teams, I even told her that she was annoying and to get away from me, she was yapping about Naruto and how the reason he misbehaves so much is because he doesn't have parents to raise him right. I immediately took it as an insult, seeing as how I had no family anymore, and she just didn't understand what it felt like to be completely alone.

I sat in a chair away from her and soon we heard crashing frown down the hall, and I heard his obnoxious voice again, Naruto was here.

"Ow! Sarah, let me go!"

"Get in there!"

The door flew open and Naruto slid across the floor, banging his head against the wall, he groaned in pain and rubbed the knot that had just formed from the impact. Sarah stormed in behind him, hands propped upon her slim hips as she glared playfully down at him.

"You don't have to be so rough!"

"Naruto, don't forget you failed the first time you took the test, just because you got the headband and learned some special jutsu doesn't mean you get to act out. I'm just trying to make sure you don't get ahead of yourself."

I noticed how close these two had become over the years, it was almost as if he were my replacement, I wasn't sure how I liked how that idea settled in my stomach. Was I jealous, hell no. I just didn't think that he was anywhere near my standard. However, they did act more like siblings than anything else, not like she and I used to.

"I know, but seriously though, where do those muscles come from?"

He continued to rub his head and winced, she chuckled and shrugged.

"I'm abnormally strong for my size, what can I say?"

She stated jokingly, Sakura glared icily at her, but Sarah paid her no mind, it was almost as if the pink haired girl didn't even exist.

We all stood and sat around for about an hour, which was significantly later than the sensei was supposed to be here. My eye twitched in impatience, where the hell was this guy?

"Ah! Where is he? Why is he so late?"

"I'm sure he has a good reason, Naruto."

Sarah wrinkled her nose and tapped her finger on the table.

"He better have a damn good reason, I could have been sleeping this whole time."

She snapped coldly, Naruto then jumped from his perch and grabbed an eraser from the front board. He placed a chair against the wall and slid the door open, propping the object in the crack tightly, giggling like a child as he went.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?"

"He was late, it's his fault, so now when he shows up and walks into the room, he's going to get a surprise!"

Sarah's pink lips formed into a smirk.

"I would say something, but I think the guy has it coming for being so late."

"This guy is a jounin, do you really think he would fall for that?"

I droned, for once actually saying something to these people. Sarah perked up at the sound of my voice, looking at me with those same curious eyes. Sometimes when I caught little glances at her, she still appeared to be the same girl I knew before, so lively and young, happy and ready to explore. But when I took a closer look, if I ever bothered, I could see that she wasn't the same, she had grown up.

"Sasuke is right, this is so stupid."

Sakura, of course, agreed with me and suddenly we heard the door open and a hand slip through the crack. A tall man, with crazy grey hair and a mask covering all of his face aside from one eye stepped in, and surprisingly enough, stood there as the eraser fell right onto his head.

"AHA! See he totally fell for it!"

Naruto fell on his butt, pointing and laughing hysterically, Sarah covered her mouth but I could hear her snickering, she would laugh at something like this. Sakura looked mortified, and I was just stunned that a man of his rank would fall for something so idiotic.

"I'm so sorry, sensei! I told him not to but he wouldn't listen to me!"

As usual, she was a kiss up the moment she met the man. Did she have to be so determined to get people to like her more all the time? It was exhausting for even me to watch. The man just stood there and stroked his fingers through his hair, he seemed puzzled, but not upset.

"My first impression of this team...you're a bunch of idiots."

My face fell, how dare he lump me in the same category as them? I hadn't done or said anything since he arrived here. Naruto was the moron who set up the trap and Sakura just couldn't keep her mouth shut for five seconds.

The five of us went outside to the roof of the building in order to speak personally with our new sensei, he was sure to be a lot different from Iruka. I could already tell that he wasn't as happy and go-lucky as the other.

"So how about you tell me about yourselves?"

The man suggested as he sat across from us, but we just stared back at him.

"And say what?"

Sakura questioned and he stroked his chin in thought.

"You know, your name, things you like, things you hate, hobbies, dreams for the future."

"How about you go first?"

Sarah pointed to him quickly, I think we were all on the same page. We weren't going to divulge any personal information if he didn't do the same.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, I like many things, I also hate many things, I have lots of hobbies...as for my dream for the future...I don't really feel like telling you that."

I almost felt like collapsing on the ground, was this guy for real? That was all he was willing to tell us and he wanted us to give details? I already had a problem with this guy.

"Now your turn, how about you, on the end?"

Naruto was first, he spent about twenty minutes babbling about ramen, did this loser have any other interests besides that? The only clear and coherent sentence that stood out to me was this.

"My dream for the future is to become the greatest Hokage, that way people will start treating me like I'm somebody, somebody important!"

I scoffed, that boy would never become Hokage, he could barely make a clone of himself. Sarah was smiling brightly at him, it seemed as though she didn't feel the same as I did.

Sakura was next, she was useless, every single thing she answered had to do with me, was she really stupid enough to think that I didn't see her staring at me and giggling? I didn't want her to be my girlfriend, I didn't even want her to touch me.

"I HATE NARUTO!"

His eyes bulged out and he called out in distress.

"Ok...you."

Kakashi pointed to me next, I stayed in my position.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate a lot of things and don't particularly like anything. As for my future, I do not have a dream, I have a goal. I will restore my clan and kill a certain...someone."

My voice was ice cold and everyone stared at me, except for Sarah, she knew, she didn't need to ask any questions. A specific darkness shrouded my heart, the thought of Itachi caused my blood to boil, still to this day I had no idea how he could have done such a thing to me. Constant images of my hands around his neck flashed through my mind, so much so that I didn't notice Sarah's drastic change in demeanor. Her smiled fell along with the rest of her face and she turned away from the rest of us, looking sorrowfully to the ground.

"Ok, I guess you're the last one."

She glanced up, and cleared her throat before blushing.

"I'm Sarah Sukiyaki, I like writing, reading, video games, and photography or anything artistic. I hate waking up early, rude people, customer service and snobs. My main hobby is writing along with training as much as I can. And my dream for the future is to become the first female ANBU captain."

"Captain, huh? That's quite and ambition."

Kakashi stated, she nodded in response. I glanced at her briefly when I heard this, I didn't expect that to be her goal. However, she was most likely the only other person in the academy, aside from me, that was strong enough to get anywhere. That isn't a compliment, it's simply an observation, but I had to be honest with myself, I may have loathed the majority of the people here, but no matter what Sarah was never someone I could hate. We had too much history, too many memories together for me to dislike her. But there was no future for us, she had to remain at a distance for her own good and for mine, getting close to her once more would only prove to be a mistake.

"Tomorrow is your first task as a squad."

"Ooh! What is it? A dangerous mission?"

"It's a survival test."

Naruto jerked from his seat, his eyes twitching along with the rest of his body.

"A survival test? We took a bunch of those already, shouldn't we be going out doing missions, everyone else is!"

Kakashi grunted, I could almost see something sinister forming under that mask.

"No, this is something that all of the new teams must go through, you all are just genin. It's important that you all go through this and pass because if you don't you are going to be sent straight back to the academy."

His voice held a tone of ultimate seriousness, I could tell that he wasn't playing around. This test was important and I had to do well and pass in order to get closer to Itachi. I needed this training, no matter how much these people bothered me to no end, how else was I going to achieve the strength to kill my brother?

"I am warning you though, there is only a forty percent pass rate, we'll meet on the training field at seven in the morning tomorrow."

He stood up to leave but then stopped himself.

"Oh, and don't eat any breakfast or else you'll puke."

Naruto gasped, Sakura looked wide eyed and full of terror, Sarah just shrugged, stood from her seat and left. Kakashi didn't frighten me and neither did this test, it appeared to me that he was just trying to scare us, maybe psych us out to make us fail. Piece of cake.


	11. Chapter 11

Yet again I was on time the next morning, I decided to heed the man's advice and not eat breakfast, however, it was still early so I wasn't feeling the hunger set in yet. It seemed that I was the first one there, I was glad though because I at least for a while I wouldn't have to listen to Sakura or Naruto.

"Morning."

My time alone was cut short, but I felt my body relax as I realized it was the voice of Sarah and not the other. I knew that gentle voice anywhere, for a moment I felt something tingling in my gut, what the hell was going on with me?

_'She can't still be affecting me like this after all this time.'_

It wasn't possible, I was over her, I had been for years. Besides, even if I wasn't nothing could develop between us, not ever. So I merely grunted at her, and didn't even look at her either, she gave a great sigh and dropped her bag on the ground, coming to stand next to me. I fidgeted some, crossing my arms over my chest eventually because of how awkward this was.

"I can't believe they put us on the same team...a little weird don't you think?"

I could hear the nervousness in her voice, we hadn't had a one on one conversation in years so I suppose that it made sense.

"Sure."

Sarah glanced around, admittedly it was strangely coincidental that they put us on the same team considering our history. But I didn't need Sarah getting the idea that just because we were on a squad together, that we were going go to back to how we were.

"Good morning, Sasuke! Ugh, why are you here?"

Sakura went from excited to furious in five seconds, the moment she spotted Sarah standing with me flames practically began to spew from her mouth. Sarah turned her to, glaring menacingly in return, these two really did hate each other.

"Because I am on this team, whether you like it or not."

Naruto came bursting through the bushes not long after, scrambling because he thought he was going to be late, but our sensei was falling behind on time once more.

"Sarah!"

She whipped around and waved to him before giving me one last look.

"Talk to you later."

And then she left me to my own devices, but for some reason the moment she vanished from my view, that tingling feeling dissipated and I felt...hollow.

* * *

"Agh! I can't believe I let this happen!"

I struggled desperately to be free of this but to no avail, I was stuck within the ground after Kakashi used that earth style jutsu on me. Only my head was left sticking out of the ground, Sakura proved once again to be useless when she saw me and then fainted. Our time was going to be up at noon, which meant I had to get out of here and get that damn bell! If I didn't than I would be sent back to the academy and that wasn't an option.

"Dammit! This is ridiculous!"

"Sasuke?"

My head snapped up and there I saw Sarah, standing there, eyes wide and full of confusion. I blinked and shifted my eyes back and forth, this was somewhat embarrassing.

"Sarah."

I cleared my throat and she rubbed the back of her neck, giving me a once over and no doubt wondering how the hell I got myself into this situation.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Her lips turned upward into an amused smirk, I returned it with a glare.

"Kakashi got be with an earth style jutsu, and now I'm stuck."

She snickered which then turned into an all out hysterical laugh, a growl erupted from the back of my throat, eye twitching out of annoyance. This wasn't funny in any way, and if she wasn't going to help me than she needed to get out of here.

"Here let me help you."

Sarah giggled once more and then calmed herself down before she kneeled down before me, taking a good look at my predicament. Her optics then met mine and we realized how close we were, her cheeks flushed a deep red and my breath hitched in my throat. Wow, I hadn't realized how much she had grown up over the years. It was no secret that she gifted with a great body, she was slim and well endowed. But her face was unblemished and...beautiful. Suddenly my heart started pounding and I felt weak, but once our gaze broke I regained my composure, what was going on with me?

"This should be an easy fix, just hang tight for a second."

I watched as she clasped her hands together, closing her eyes and breathing steadily for a moment, this wasn't any technique that I recognized but if it meant getting me out, than I didn't care. Sarah placed her palms on the ground and her skin began to melt into the same color as the dirt, and as they did, they sank into the earth all the way up to her elbows.

_'How in the hell is she doing that?'_

I had never witnessed anything like that before, someone able to mold their body to the earth itself, what kind of jutsu was this? She hadn't even performed any hand signs.

"Wiggle your hands."

I did as she told me as much as I could with my restrictions and I felt her soft fingers clasp around them, my gut filled with an unimaginable heat and I coughed. She bit her bottom lip slightly and then pulled me slowly but surely out of the ground until I stumbled clumsily to my feet – but she somehow managed to keep me steady by holding my arms.

"There you go."

Again we looked at each other after a few minutes of getting me to regain my balance and she smiled that same smile. My mind went hazy at the mere sight of it, she had this effect on me for so many years even though I continuously pulled away from these emotions. It was absurd what she did to me, I didn't even know what these feelings were, the last time I felt so strongly about this girl was when I was a kid and I didn't even understand it then.

"I guess we should get back to trying to get those bells."

Her words snapped me out of my trance and I immediately let go of her arms after seeing that I had been gripping her like my life line this entire time.

"Right, thanks."

Thanking her was the least I could do, after all she did get me out of the dirt. The two of us starting walking together, leaving Sakura on the ground, still unconscious.

"Damn, we don't have a lot of time left."

Sarah checked and groaned, running her fingers quickly through her hair.

"I can't believe this! I knew being on a squad would slow me down, I need to get one of those bells!"

I was so close earlier! I touched a bell just barely with the tip of my finger but it was still something and I couldn't give up now! But where was I going to start, my plan before was supposed to be full proof and now we were almost out of time.

"Sasuke, don't worry about it we'll get them! We just have to work together, if we do we can figure out a plan to get the bells!"

My brows narrowed fiercely at her as I turned, she paled at my expression. A darkness fell over me like nothing before, she had no idea how much this meant to me! And for her to tell me not to worry, was she out of her mind?

"No! I knew being on a team like this would slow me down! I need that bell so that I can continue with my training! I can't afford to waste time, I need this training so that I can find him and kill him!"

As I spoke my voice rose in harshness and she took a step back, cowering slightly as my screams began to echo through the trees.

"Without this I will never be strong enough to get my revenge."

I clenched my fists so tightly that my knuckles turned white, my body was shaking with rage. The mere thought of my brother and what he did sent me into a fury like no other. He needed to pay dearly for all the pain and loneliness he caused me. Itachi slaughtered my parents and our entire clan, he stole my childhood and everything that made me a kid – I had to grow up fast because I had no other choice. At this point I was seeing red and she looked almost terrified, I didn't want to scare her, but she just didn't understand.

"Sasuke, I'm not like all of the others, I know what happened and I know what you're after and I understand...I just think that our chances of passing would increase so much if we just worked together!"

Unlike my voice, her own was quivering, almost as if she was about to cry.

"No, this is a waste of my time."

I took one step forward and heard the chime of the clock in the distance, the test was over.

"And now I'll never get my chance."

I continued to walk away from her, in the back of my mind, I sort of felt bad for being so mean to her but I had my goals and she had hers. They could never intertwine and I needed to stay as far apart from these people as possible.


	12. Chapter 12

"Kakashi-Sensei!"

Naruto screamed, his entire body freezing in place as two enemy ninja appeared behind him, chuckling as they eyed him like their prey.

"Naruto, look out!"

Sarah shouted but he still did nothing, I groaned at his lack of motivation and leapt into action. Jumping in the air, I threw my shuriken into the chain that linked their arms together and stuck them to a nearby tree.

"Can't get loose!"

One grumbled as they tried to pull apart, I landed on their giant arm bands and placed my hands on them, launching my feet directly into their jaws. Naruto watched in awe at my movements, most likely wondering why he couldn't do the same thing, I was just better than him.

The men unhooked the chain from their arm bands and one sped towards the bridge builder while the other went for Naruto. Which meant I had to pick one or the other, Naruto should have been able to handle his own, besides Tazuna was the one in need of protection. So in a split second decision, I darted towards him, only to see Sakura fumble in front of him, holding a kunai.

_'Is she insane? She isn't strong enough to face him on her own!'_

I drastically picked up my speed and slid in front of her, protecting her and the bridge builder from harm.

"Just stay behind me, Sakura."

I called back to her, only hearing a whimper in response, I braced myself for what was to come. The man had come so close I could smell the stench of his breath and exhaled, everything seemed to slow down.

But in a flash I saw a fist impact his face, my eyes widened as I saw who the fist was attached to. It was Sarah, and her punch landed with such an impact against his jaw, I could hear it snap underneath the pressure.

"GAH!"

He called out in agony and flew into a nearby tree, almost snapping it in half in the process. My arms fell limp to my sides and my jaw just about hit the floor. Sarah stood in front of me, panting and carefully watching the now fallen ninja, by the looks of it, he wasn't getting back up.

"Sarah?"

She looked to me, seeing how shocked I was, how the hell did she do that? She sent him unconscious with just one hit to the face, was she always that strong?

"Look out!"

I yelled as his partner came up behind her as swiftly as possible, however, she swiveled on her heels and grabbed his face, clenching her hand. Using all the force in her body she slammed his skull into the ground, causing the earth to crack beneath him, the rest of us observed in surprise.

_'Where did that strength come from?'_

That was incredible, I had never seen her display such power, after all she had always been timid when it came to exposing what she could do.

But something was off about her, I shook my head to put myself back together and the noticed how shaken she looked. Her eyes were wide and darting around like she was afraid, her body was visibly trembling and her skin was abnormally pale, she didn't look like a person who just took out two experienced ninja with her bare hands. There was something wrong, so I stepped forward, away from the whimpering Sakura and placed my hand on her arm.

"Sarah?"

She jumped a little and turned to see that it was just me and I felt her body relax immediately.

"You took them out...it's over."

I assured her, although, I don't know what compelled me to do so, I just didn't like the feeling it gave me when I saw her so distressed.

"Yeah...right."

Why was she so freaked out, it caused me to worry, I had never seen her like this.

"Are you ok?"

I asked in a whisper, not wanting everyone to know what we were talking about. She glanced up at me with shimmering eyes, it almost appeared like she was about to cry, I felt a hurtful pang in my chest. What was going on with her? Sarah took those two very powerful ninja down without any preparation or thought involved, it was almost as if it were all by impulse and yet she looked terrified.

"I'm fine..."

I didn't believe her for a second, but it wasn't like I could force her to tell me what was going on.

* * *

I felt something heavy weighing down on my chest, and my eyes fluttered open to see the blurs of a faded, grey sky, mist all around me. My body ached in every place imaginable and I groaned, and the weight on me lessened slightly and I struggled to lift my heavy skull.

"Sasuke?"

A light, whimpering voice called out my name and I blinked, clearing my vision only to see that Sakura as sobbing on my chest. Tears were running down her beat red cheeks and her green eyes glimmered with distress and hopelessness, I grunted in pain.

"Sakura, you're heavy..."

Her body pressing against my chest caused a constriction and I started coughing. Sakura gasped sharply as the sight of me moving and squealed so loudly that it echoed along the bridge. Tazuna was watching the two of us from the sidelines, his own wrinkled face was etched with surprise.

"Oh, Sasuke! You're alive!"

The obnoxious girl threw her arms around my neck and sobbed uncontrollably onto my shoulder, I winced as I felt the sting of every gash in my body. As much as this girl was concerned for my well being, she certainly wasn't being gentle. I lifted my hand to look at it, and I was shaking, pale and covered in wounds, I glanced around to see that the mirrors which once surrounded me had all been smashed into millions of pieces.

_'How the hell am I still alive?'_

That ninja, Haku, I could have sworn that he killed me. Naruto and I had almost figured out the pattern of the mirrors, and in order to save Naruto I jumped in the way of the needles he was throwing. I took the hit for him and I was still alive? How?

"Naruto and I thought that you were dead! I was so horrified, I couldn't believe it! But you're alive, I am so happy you're alive!"

She continued to weep, but I was barely listening, she was always panicking over me, this was no different.

"What happened?"

Sakura finally pulled away from me and turned to look at something, I followed her gaze and saw two bodies in the distance. I peered closely only to find that it was Haku and Zabuza, they were dead and just lying next to each other.

"It's over...we won!"

I blinked, not quite understanding.

"How?"

She turned back to me, but I was still focused on the bodies, utterly confused about everything I had missed while I was out.

"Haku sacrificed himself to save Zabuza, I think. I don't know exactly what happened with Zabuza but I remember hearing someone yelling something about Sarah. She went off into a rage when she found out about you."

I suddenly felt my body go completely stiff at the sound of her name.

_'Sarah? Is she ok? What did she do? Did she go up against him by herself?'_

The moment I heard her name come from Sakura's mouth, she was the only thing that I could think about. My chest began to heave at the image of her body lying somewhere on this bridge, I needed to know if she was ok.

"But I came to check on you! I was so worried, I thought I lost you forever, Sasuke!"

Sakura whimpered and placed her hand on my shoulder, I snapped my mortified gaze back at her and she jumped slightly.

"Where is she?"

Sakura blinked and suddenly pulled her hand away at my question.

"What?"

My heart was pounding in my ears and I narrowed my eyes at her, she needed to spit it out.

"Where is Sarah?"

Her eyes widened and Sakura shook her head as if to say she didn't know. I didn't waste another moment and jumped to my feet, practically pushing Sakura off of me as I ran into the finally clearing mist. Things were getting brighter, making it easier to find my way around the bridge. Finally, I came to a dark figure and as I drew closer I saw that it was Naruto, his pale face lit up at the sight of me, no doubt also surprised that I was still alive.

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke, you're alive?"

His blue optics were bulging out of his skull and I nodded dismissively.

"Yeah, I am! Now where is Sarah?"

Naruto glanced down for a second as if checking his memory for something and I waited in agonizing silence, and then he looked at me with such a horrific glimmer in her eyes that I shivered.

"The last time I saw her...she was charging at Zabuza, she looked like she was going to kill him!"

I panted, a cold air washing over me that I didn't like. I had no idea where she was or if she was even alive, who knows what happened when she charged at that freak!

"Sarah!"

I called her name and whipped around, Naruto looked around as well. But I couldn't see her. That is, until the mist finally cleared, and I noticed a person sitting on the bridge, leaning against the railing. That red hair was unmistakable, it was her, so I raced to her side and skidded to my knees to make sure she was alright. At first glance, I saw that she was beaten, bloody and bruised, and as far as I could see, she was unconscious.

"Sarah! Sarah, wake up!"

I gently gripped her arm and shook her slightly in order to bring her back to reality, I checked her heart, it was still beating and she was breathing, but it was faint.

"Sarah, come on, wake up."

I whispered this time, in a way I didn't want the others to see how desperate I was in order for her to come back to me. My heart was aching, I couldn't lose her! Not now, there was no way I was going to let her go, she was the only connection I had to the world. Sarah was the only person who actually knew me and didn't try to change me, she needed to wake up.

"Sarah!"

I placed my hand on her cheek and stroked her sliced cheek, I heard her groan faintly and I froze as her eyes began to flutter open. My body was starting to shake violently, she was coming back, I knew she was in there somewhere fighting for her life.

"Sarah, come on, open your eyes..."

And finally they were open and I could see those blue/green orbs that penetrated my soul. Somehow, with just one look, she managed to make me weak in the knees, I could never understand why. But at this moment I wasn't about to question it.

"Sasuke..."

Her voice was incredibly weak but I could hear her and I nodded, stroking her cheek with my thumb to assure her that I was here. A tired smile curled onto her lips, how did she have the ability to smile at the time like this when she was hanging by a thread?

"You're alive..."

She whispered and I grunted, I blinked when I saw a single tear pool at the corner of her eye and slide down her cheek.

"I thought...you were dead."

I shook my head rapidly.

"No, I'm fine. They told me what you did...why did you go after him like that?"

Her smiled widened a little but then she winced, gasping sharply at the pain that was no doubt coursing through her body.

"I thought he killed you...I lost my mind...so I-I...went after him."

I sighed and looked down, continually shaking my head at how reckless she was. Why would she go so far for someone like me? I knew that we had known each other since we were kids, and as much as I hated to admit it, there would always be a sense of protectiveness that I had over her. I had no idea that she felt the same towards me. But she was just a childhood friend, a girl that I let go a long time ago, but I would protect her no matter what.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"I couldn't help it...I'll be damned if...if anyone hurts you..."

I just couldn't understand why she would risk herself for me.


	13. Chapter 13

We filed into the room, each ninja was handed a number, which was the seat they were going to be placed in. They did this specifically so that none of us would be sitting next to any of our teammates, they wanted to make sure we didn't help each other to get any answers. A written test. I couldn't believe the first phase of the chunin exams was going to be a written test, Naruto was screwed, Sakura would be perfectly fine, Sarah was smart but she simply didn't do well in a testing environment. And as for me, I knew the details of ninja skills, but I wasn't the greatest when being paper tested about them.

My number brought me to the middle of the room, but closer to the back, I sat around a bunch of people I had never seen before, but I looked around, finding each person on my team sitting on a different end of the room. Our proctor made his way to the front of the room, he was tall, robust and had scars marring his face.

"The test has ten questions on it, you have an hour to complete the first nine questions on the exam. The last question will be given orally during the last ten minutes. Each question is worth the same amount of points and you must answer them to the best of your ability. Your scores will determine whether or not you pass."

Every participant waited and listened anxiously, I wasn't particularly nervous, I was more concerned about how Naruto was going to do. He was an idiot, especially when it came to written exams.

"At the end of the exam we will calculate your scores on a team by team basis. We will determine whether or not you move on by analyzing the score of each member of your team. If one member fails, you all fail."

My breath hitched in the back of my throat and my eyes immediately went to the blonde fool sitting in the front. My brows narrowed into the back of his head and I hoped that he felt it, if he failed than he was going to ruin all of our chances of passing this exam! I couldn't let that happen, if he caused me to fail than my chances of finding my brother would be shot to hell. Naruto was not going to ruin this for me, I would kill him if he did. I then looked to Sakura, she was also giving Naruto the iciest glare she could muster, and then I turned to Sarah, who simply looked nervous as hell.

Something was going on with her today, I noticed. Ever since the moment she stepped up to us this morning to start the exam, I could sense that something was wrong inside of her. Sarah seemed timid, muffled and almost as if she were trying to hide from us. I had noticed this a while ago, that she was second guessing whether or not she should join the chunin exams, but she would never express to anyone why. I was informed that she spoke to Kakashi about what was going on and I guess he managed to convince her into coming with us. I was glad she decided to, she was a strong and powerful ninja, Sarah had the ability to go places and I knew she wanted to become an ANBU. She needed to pass this exam as much as I did. I just wish I knew what was going on with her.

* * *

We all stood in the middle of the forest of death, the trees towered over us to the point where we couldn't even see the sky anymore. We were already attacked once and we had devised a secret code for each other in case we were separated and needed to know if we had an intruder in our midst. I was confident that Sarah and Sakura would be able to remember it, but I knew that there was no way in hell Naruto would be able to recall something so lengthy. However, if anyone was listening, they didn't know that, this would be how I would tell Naruto apart from the rest.

"So we need to find someone with an earth scroll, that could be a challenge."

Sarah mused as she observed her surroundings, taking in every detail of the forest we were trapped in. There was nothing I wanted more than for this to be over and done with, but it seemed this was going to take much longer than I expected. I turned to the crimson haired ninja and smirked, I was glad that she was here. Ever since the bridge mission on the land hidden in the mist, I had grown to be even more appreciative of the fact that she was with me, on this team. I didn't even want to imagine what it would be like without her, somehow she managed to keep me sane. Sarah risked her life over me, I didn't know anyone else like her.

Why did things between us have to go so array? When we were kids, she was all I could ever think about, she was the only thing I wanted. But Itachi changed things, I didn't know what he was capable of, getting closer to Sarah would give him an opening to hurt her or worse. She was too precious for me to allow anyone to harm her, especially Itachi.

"Sarah."

I called to her and she turned to meet my eyes, and then that familiar warmth returned to me, filled me up and spilled out onto the ground. A comfort that only she could make me feel.

"Yeah?"

"Didn't you tell me once that you had a way of being able to detect chakra?"

Sarah blinked and arched her brow at me with a puzzled look.

"You remember that?"

She told me that a long time ago, back when we were younger actually. Sarah never actually told me what she was capable of, her parents mentioned once that she had special abilities but she never wanted to go into detail about it. I nodded to her with a smirk and her eyes flushed a bright pink color and she rubbed the back of her neck, obviously shy, it was cute.

"Yeah, I can, it's kind of weird so don't judge me and it's not the most accurate of ways but I'll give it a shot."

The three of us nodded and she turned her back to us, kneeling to the ground she placed her palms firmly on the dirt. Sarah closed her eyes and took deep, slow breaths, but we all watched her in confusion, wondering how this would work. The three of us glanced at one another curiously and in silence, moments later she stood and turned to us.

"There is someone near."

Naruto blinked, eyes wide.

"How do you know exactly?"

She opened her mouth to speak, fumbling with her words a little.

"I sense chakra through the earth, but only if it is really nearby. But it doesn't matter, the point is there is someone..."  
Her sentence was cut off when a massive gust of wind began blowing at us from the center of the forest. We all shielded ourselves, branches, rock and debris came at us from all directions, but somehow out of the corner of my eye I could see Sarah moving. However the strength of the wind increased and we were all pushed back once more, an echoing growl erupted from the source of the wind and it lifted us off our feet. I could hear screams, the unmistakable shrieks of Sarah hung in the air as I was flung into a nearby tree, my back cracked against it and I called out in pain before hitting the ground. The wind ceased and I looked up swiftly to see Sakura a few feet away from me, but Naruto and Sarah were gone.

"Sakura! Where are Naruto and Sarah?"

She shakily lifted her head and shook it, her eyes held pain and worry.

"I don't know."

I stood quickly and rushed to her, helping her to her feet, she fell against me and I glanced around to see if there was any sign of them.

"Sarah! Naruto!"

There was no response from either one of them, which had me worried, but more so about Sarah than the other twit. Sure he was a member of my team, but she meant more to me than anyone else that I knew and I needed to find her to make sure that she was alright.

There was a rustling in the bushes and we looked over to see the dimwit himself stumbling through the brush into the clearing. I groaned and he rushed over to us, panting.

"Wait, what's the password?"

I firmly questioned before he got too close, we didn't know if it was really him or not and I wasn't about to risk either of us getting hurt. Naruto smiled and caught his breath before reciting the speech perfectly and without flaw, Sakura sighed with relief, but I knew something she didn't. I launched a swift kick to his face, sending him skidding to the floor.

"Sasuke!"

I brushed my shirt off and turned to the boy on the ground.

"You're better than the last one! You but the cut on the cheek and everything."

Naruto looked up at me with questionable eyes, a well faked innocence on their part.

"But...but he recited the password perfectly!"

Sakura reminded me, didn't she think that I knew that? I nodded but I never took my eyes off of this impostor, I knew it wasn't the real Naruto.

"Exactly, do you really think that the real Naruto would be able to remember something so lengthy and detailed?"

She gasped and suddenly understood exactly what I was talking about. The Naruto clone before me smirked deviously and licked their lips with the most inhuman tongue I had ever seen.

"What have you done with Sarah and Naruto?"

I growled with dark eyes, he merely laughed maniacally.

"I wouldn't worry about the boy, he's just fine. The girl however is with a little friend of mine being well taken care of."

I recognized that voice, and it didn't take long before this person exposed their true form, it was the woman from earlier, the one who reminded me of a snake.

"Where is she?"

My voice became increasingly more harsh, if something happened to her there was going to be hell to pay, I would murder her if she hurt Sarah.

"Like I said, she's being taken care of."

"Don't you hurt her!"

Sakura was surprised by my sudden anger, and she was most likely wondering why the hell I was so worried about her when I spent so much of my time hiding my emotions. But I would be damned if I allowed anyone to touch her.


	14. Chapter 14

I could see the beast drawing closer, it's threatening eyes zeroed in on her and she was standing on her last legs, wobbling in place and in a daze.

"SARAH!"

She was unresponsive, and covered in wounds, she had been in a battle with this thing for who knows how long and she was on the verge of losing her life. I had never seen such a large beast, and it was coming at her with full force, she was the target, but why?

_'Nevermind that! I need to get her away from this thing!'_

I raced forward without another thought and jumped in front of her, forming the proper hand signs for my fire jutsu. The snake opened its mouth, hissing and exposing it's massive fangs, but I stood my ground, the only way to help her was to get rid of this monster. I filled my lungs with air performed the fire ball jutsu that my clan was famous for, the giant swirling ball went straight into its mouth and it shrieked, pulling back and started writhing in pain. The flames scorched his insides, traveling the length of the snakes body and causing it to collapse from the trees, sending it to the ground bellow. My skin was deathly pale, I couldn't believe that thing had some so close to devouring us both. I whipped around to face Sarah, she was visibly trembling and hunched over. I could hear her whimpering and saw that she was gripping a profusely bleeding wound on her right arm, I gasped and watched as she fell. But I jumped forward, catching her before she slammed into the ground.

"Sarah!"

I kneeled down onto the branch and cradled her in my arms, I pulled her close to my body, placing my hand over her own in order to apply pressure to the wound so we could stop the bleeding. Sarah released an agonizing cry of pain and I felt my chest burning, wishing I could take away this pain that she was feeling. She looked so weak and frail, tears spilled from her dull eyes and she began to whimper as she nestled against me.

"It's ok, it's ok! It's gone now, just breathe."

I soothingly spoke to her in order for her to calm down, she didn't nod but I could see that she was trying to follow my instructions. Sarah started to control her breathing, it came slower and deeper, but she kept fidgeting from how uncomfortable the wound was making her.

"You need to stop moving, Sarah, we have to stop the bleeding, work with me. Come on, you can do it, just calm down, it'll be ok."

Her eyes snapped open to gaze up at me, her expression was pleading for me to help her. It shattered my heart, I hated seeing her like this, I couldn't watch her be in this much pain.

"Sasuke...I-I can't..."

I shook my head, shushing her before she could speak another word.

"No! You can do this, I'm here with you I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You just have to stay with me, ok?"

Sarah finally nodded and continued to focus on her breathing and I pressed against her wound as much as I could without causing her too much discomfort.

"You'll be alright, I promise."

She lifted her hands and clutched my shirt tightly between her weak fingers, once I was sure the bleeding had ceased I wrapped my arms around her. At this moment, all of the stupid pride I had was thrown out the window – I cared about her. I have always cared about her since the moment we met, and there was no use in pushing those feelings away. Sarah was the only person who could make me feel like I was worth something, even if we didn't out right say how we felt to each other, I knew that beneath the surface there was something stirring. She was all I had left and I had to make sure she was safe, even if she never felt the same about me.

Sarah was crying onto me and I squeezed her tightly, wanting her to know that I was there, and I always would be. I had always known somewhere inside of me that I had feelings for her, but I tried to erase them after my clan was taken from me. I thought that such emotions were useless and would only slow me down, but I was never successful in completely getting rid of them. Every time she looked at me, the memories of us as kids resurfaced, and with that, the same feelings of love.

Was this love that I was feeling? There was no way of knowing. She was the only one who accepted me, didn't obsess over me, looked after me and she had my back. Sarah protected me without being asked, she was kind to me no matter what, called me out on my bullshit and treated me like a normal human being. She saw past the slaughtered clan, the broken soul, she reached out and touched my heart in ways I never thought possible.

_'I was just such a fucking idiot I was never able to see it before.'_

I could never tell her, she would never feel the same. But I could protect her, watch over her from a distance, and make sure that she was safe.


	15. Chapter 15

A vicious swirl of visible chakra whipped around my body, my flesh was covered in black splotches that emerged from the black marking on my neck. I smiled devilishly, I was drunk with power! Where had this come from? It was like nothing I had ever felt before, I felt like I could take on the fucking world!

"I'm going to rip you apart!"

The words spilled from my lips, dripping with acid, my blazing sharingan eyes glared upon the pathetic weakling that was trembling at my feet. He was a useless heap on the ground, his arms handing limp at his sides as he cried out in agony. I replayed the sound of his bones snapping in my mind, the rush of pure adrenaline and joyous fury crashed over my entire body. I wanted to spill his blood, watch as it pooled around his lifeless body!

I laughed maniacally, stepping closer to him, and he inched back in fear. Yes! He feared me, the look of utter horror in his eyes was exactly what I wanted to see! It fueled me. I increased my speed and he called out in fear, as he backed away desperately to get away from me.

"Die!"

Just as I lifted my hand to grab the disgusting fool, I felt something slam into me, causing me to hit the ground with a heavy thud. I groaned at the soreness in my back and winced before glaring up at whatever the hell was on top of me. It was Sarah, she was watching me with concerned and terrified eyes, I growled immediately at the sight of her. She was trying to stop me from giving this guy what he deserved, I was going to put him in his grave.

"Get off!"

I began to thrash but she held me down with little to no effort, how the hell was she so strong? Her grip on my arms tightened and I winced yet again, she was sure to bruise me.

"Stop it, Sasuke! You have to stop, this isn't you!"

Sarah begged me, I met her eyes again and I could see tears welling in them, I struggled still.

"I'm going to kill them!"

"No! Please, Sasuke! This is the mark talking, this isn't who you are, you wouldn't do this to these people!"

I started to calm down just a little, but I was still panting, I still felt the fury rising in me. Sarah bit her bottom lip and leaned closer to me, what was she doing?

"I know the real Sasuke is in there somewhere. You're a good guy, you wouldn't be doing this, I know it. I know who you really are, Sasuke Uchiha. I know it's been years since we were kids, but I haven't forgotten, when we were kids there was something there, I know I'm not imagining it. It's been a long time...but I never lost faith in you, and I don't think you ever lost faith in us either."

Sarah began to speak, her words hit me like a punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of me and finally causing me to stop moving and gaze up at her with full attention.

_'Does she really mean all of that?'_

"Sasuke...just please stop...please."

Before I could do or say anything, she pressed her lips firmly against my own. The moment I tasted her soft mouth, something sparked within me, the sharingan in my eyes faded and the markings receded back into my neck. My chest began to heat up, along with the rest of my body, a fire ignited inside of me and I felt...alive. I felt alive for the first time in my life. My heart began to pound rapidly, my blood was pumping like never before. She tasted so good, sweet like candy, I couldn't believe this was happening. I never thought this would happen in a million years, I wasn't good enough for her and we spent years at a distance, barely speaking to each other. But here she was, kissing me. And I was most certainly not going to fight her.

I kissed her back, as much as I could while she was pinning me down, but I did it. I licked her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, allowing me tongue to explore her warm cavern. My tongue brushed against her own for a moment before she skillfully intertwined them and I felt pleasure in brand new places.

Once our lips parted gently I felt this sense of loss, I didn't want to stop. I loved how her lips felt on mine, how perfect she was. Sarah rolled off of me and I sat up, catching my breath before I turned to look at her, she was blushing profusely and averting her eyes to the ground. What just happened?

* * *

Kakashi was pulling me away from the arena, but I didn't want to leave, I wanted to stay and watch the rest of the fights.. I wanted to know who won and who lost so that I could know who I was up against. But he wasn't having it, he needed to suppress this curse mark before it got out of hand, if I wasn't careful this thing would take control of me like it did in the forest. I was still trying to figure out exactly what happened back there, when Sarah kissed me, we hadn't gotten the chance to talk about it yet. The moment Sakura saw it happen, she flipped her lid and went ballistic on Sarah, threatening her and telling her that I belonged to her. It seemed we would have to wait until we were alone.

"Sarah's up next! I need to see how she does!"

I grumbled to my sensei but he merely shook his head before watching as Sarah approached the center of the arena. Her eyes flicked to us and she ran over, grabbing Kakashi's arm.

"Wait, Kakashi, let me go with you!"

He shook his head, and she looked to me with frightened eyes.

"No, Sarah you need to stay here and complete your match."

"But I want to make sure he's ok."

She turned away from me to look at him, but my gaze stayed fixated on her, why would she be willing to give up her chances in order to stay with me? This girl was truly amazing, I had never been able to see it up until this point, but she was willing to give up so much for me. I couldn't let her do this.

"He's right, Sarah, you need to fight and win."

Sarah froze in place and glanced around, I knew she wanted to come with me, I wanted her to come as well but I couldn't allow her to jeopardize her chances of passing.

"You're strong, you can win this, don't ruin your chances, ok? You're stronger than most of the idiots in this place anyway."

I sent her a reassuring smirk and she gave me that heart warming smile again, and I was sent back to the moment of the kiss, the sensation flowing throughout my entire body. Sarah nodded before returning to her place in the arena, assuming a strong and protective stance before the proctor called the beginning of the fight. She changed completely when she was about to fight, Sarah turned into this warrior, battling until the very end and not letting up even once. Now if only I could figure out why the hell she kissed me earlier.


	16. Chapter 16

The only noise that filled the room was that of my heart rate monitor, it beeped to signal the strength of my heart beat. I rubbed my neck where the curse mark was, for the moment it faded beneath my skin, but it still burned like red hot coals being pressed against my flesh. However, it was far more bearable than it had been earlier, I just wished I didn't have to be locked up in this damn hospital. The next phase of the exam wouldn't be for another month and I needed to train, Kakashi informed me that I was going to be going up against Gaara, the sand demon that I had been itching to fight ever since we met in the village. But I didn't know about any of his fighting skills, how he acting in the arena, and I needed to train if I had any chances of defeating him! But no, I was stuck in this fucking place.

With an exasperated groan, I clenched my jaw and looked down into my lap, soon enough I was sure to get endless visits from Sakura or Ino. Perhaps even both of them, bringing me flowers and competing against each other to see if I was alright. But I didn't want to see either of them, the only person I wanted to see and speak to was Sarah. And as if on cue, I heard a tapping on my window, my head snapped over and there she was, crouching on the windowsill outside.

"Sarah?"

All she did was grin and wave, signaling for me to open the window so that she could come inside. I arched my brow and unlocked it, sliding it up and she jumped inside, moving so that she could sit on my bed.

"Hey, Sasuke!"

I simply blinked out of confusion.

"Sarah, what are you doing here?"

"I came to get you out of here, the next phase of the chunin exam is in one month exactly and you need to train."

It was as if she had been reading my mind, but why did she come in through the window?

"Why come in through the window?"

Sarah laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world, but I still didn't see the humor in it.

"I got orders from Kakashi to get you out of this place, he knows that you need to train so I offered to bust you out of here. But the nurses and doctors still don't think you're quite ready to leave yet, so I had to come through the window so we could sneak you out."

So Kakashi wanted me to come train with him, finally, I was able to get something useful done, I was so sick and tired of being locked up in here with nothing to keep me occupied.

"Your supplies are already packed up and ready to go, now we just need you."

I didn't hesitate before jumping out of bed and putting some proper clothes on, Sarah turned away as to not invade my personal space, but in truth I didn't really mind. It was strange, the two of us acting as if nothing was wrong and yet we practically made out in front of most of the rookie genin in the forest.

"Let's go."

She smiled at me when I was ready and gestured for me to follow her, we jumped out the window together and started jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Kakashi didn't say, he just told me that we need to meet him at the gates."

I nodded and looked ahead, the fresh air felt cool on my face, it felt good to finally be out of that damned hospital.

"Thanks for busting me out."

I figured I might as well thank her, without her I would still be stuck in there, she giggled.

"Anytime."

* * *

I panted, sweat droplets forming on my brow as I tried desperately to catch my breath while leaning on my knees. My chest heaved and burned from the lack of air in my lungs, I clenched my jaw over and over, my gums ached and I looked up, seeing that Sarah was in the same position I was.

"Good job, both of you, that was a good fight."

Kakashi applauded us for our efforts in training, but my body felt like it was going to fall apart. Sarah put up a damn good fight, I never knew that she possessed such strong abilities. But with my sharingan I was able to keep up with her, even if I didn't win, it was a tie between the two of us.

I pushed myself up, straightening out my body and I could see that she was trying to do the same, we were both exhausted, if I hit the ground right this moment I would fall asleep instantly. Sarah lifted her head and held her side where a small pool of blood was forming, I cut her earlier with my kunai, not too deep, but just enough to slow her down. But she cut me up in return, I didn't get away unscathed.

"Get yourselves patched up, I'll get some food made."

Kakashi calmly stated, nodding to the both of us respectively before returning to our little camp area. I could see that Sarah was spending all of her energy and focus on applying some pressure to her wound, so I went to her instead of waiting for her to come to me.

"You ok?"

I asked and she nodded with a tired smile.

"Yeah, just a little banged up, thanks to you."

I could tell she wasn't angry or upset because she laughed, but was cut off when she winced at the pain in her side, I smirked.

"Well, thanks to you I didn't exactly get away unbruised either."

We laughed together, this was the first time I had ever laughed with someone. This girl was changing me, bringing out the better parts of me that I tried to hard to push away. How in the world did she do this to me?

We sat down together, bandaging up our wounds and cleaning them so that they wouldn't get infected.

"That chidori of yours is looking pretty good."

I grunted and shrugged, Kakashi had taught me a new ability, one that he himself created. It was an honor really to have the ability to learn something so powerful, it was certainly going to help me out in the end.

"It's not perfect yet."

"So? It doesn't have to be perfect, you just have to give it your all."

Sarah was encouraging no matter what, it was almost as if nothing could phase her, she was strong and determined. She never lost faith in me after all these years, even after I stopped speaking to her, and gave her the cold shoulder, she stood by me without even second guessing herself. But there was something that was bothering me, when we fought she exposed a side of herself that I never knew existed, such extreme power came from this girl.

"Sarah..."

"Yeah?"

I needed to choose my words carefully in order not to offend her.

"You never told me about the powers you had, but during the fight today you showed something I've never seen before..."

She nodded and gave me a smile.

"You want to know what the heck I am, don't you?"

Perhaps that wasn't my exact choice in words, but she was right, so I nodded. Sarah merely laughed, not offended or anything, it was almost as if she expected me to react in this way.

"I thought you might ask me that, you're not the first one to wonder."

She turned and I followed her eyes to see Kakashi, who was making some food over the fire, I arched my brow.

"Kakashi questioned me about it before the chunin exams. He saw that there was something weird going on with how I fought, so he asked me about it. I was a little afraid to tell him at first but he pulled it right out of me..."

Sarah paused for a moment to look back at me, our eyes met.

"When I was little, before my parents moved us here, they discovered that I wasn't exactly like all of the other kids. I displayed strength that was far too powerful for someone of my age and size, and I possessed the ability to bend wind and earth to my will."

I listened as she explained herself, the only thing that seemed unusual so far was her strength, which I noticed was abnormal a while ago. She displayed it on our way to the land of the mist when we were protecting the bridge builder, took out two very experienced ninja with her bare hands, it was like nothing to her.

"At first my parents thought it was peculiar, it's rare to find a ninja who has chakra based in more than one element, but they let it slide. But a couple months later, I started showing signs of being able to control water, and then later I started using fire."

That was strange, there was no one on earth who was able to have their chakra based in all four elements, and the abnormal strength, what was she?

"You might have heard this before, but people like to call me an elemental."

My eyes widened immediately at the word, I had heard of such a thing before, but everyone always shrugged it off as a mere myth. No one believed that such a person existed, but here she was, sitting right in front of me, she truly was amazing.

"Obviously it means I can control all of the elements and I also have very abnormal strength. And there you have it."

I blinked, it took me a moment for all of this information to sink in, but I didn't think any differently of her. If anything I simply thought it made her more incredible than she already was, if that was even possible, she just continued to surprise me. Sarah fiddled with her fingers and glanced up at me nervously.

"You don't think I'm a freak or anything do you?"

Why in the world would she think that? It was clear to me that she was insecure about her power, it couldn't be loved or admired by everyone. I was sure that others who found out were possibly jealous or afraid of it, so they insulted her and made her feel like she was a freak. It must have been hard for her, no wonder she kept it a secret all this time. Why would you want to expose something that people hated because they thought it was dangerous? I simply smirked and shook my head.

"Not at all."

And that was the truth, she was perfect, there was no way I would ever think she was a freak. Our gazes met once more and she smiled, her face turning a bright red, she really was just perfect.


	17. Chapter 17

Another long day of training had past, night had fallen and the stars were hanging vibrantly in the sky. I was tired, but not tired enough to go to sleep, there was too much going on in my mind right now. It had been three weeks since Sarah picked me up in order to start my training for the last phase of the exam, and we had spent every day with each other since. We woke up together, ate together, trained together, and we were together when we fell asleep. Over time I had gotten to know her even more than I did before, she expressed her secrets to me about what she could do, things she never told anyone. And with every day that went by, the more my feelings for her grew, I had lost the battle I started, trying to push away how much I cared about her. Sarah took my walls down and found a way inside, but it was ok, I liked it, I didn't want it to end.

But there was still something that was gnawing at the back of my mind, the kiss we shared, we still never talked about it. I just needed to know why she did it? Did she do it simply to pull me out of the control of the curse mark? Or was it something much deeper than that? Either way, it was killing me not knowing. So I went to go talk to her, we were going to figure this out tonight.

"Sarah?"

I gently called out her name, walking away from the camp to find her. I trekked through the open field and came across a few large boulders. Rounding the corner, I saw her leaning against the giant rock, arms folded behind her back and staring at the sky.

"Sarah."

Her head quickly turned to face me and she smiled immediately, the moon light gleaming onto her pale skin gave her this heavenly glow. I always did think she was beautiful.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

I drew closer to her until I was leaning against the rock at her side, staring up at the sky with her. Out here you could see a lot more of the stars, none of the village lights got in the way, it was peaceful out here.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

I averted my eyes to look down at her and she looked at me again.

"About what happened in the forest of death, when the curse mark took over, and you kissed me."

She exhaled deeply and looked down, she was embarrassed, but I only wanted her to tell me the truth.

"I can't stop thinking about it. And I just wanted to ask you...why you did it."

Sarah fidgeted nervously when I asked her about this, I needed to know in order to figure out if I could move on with her or without her.

"I was scared, when the curse mark took over, it turned you into this blood thirsty monster. You broke the arms of one of the ninja and I knew that something was going on, I knew that it wasn't really you who was doing that, because you're never that brutal..."

Her voice was beginning to quiver, I could tell that this was difficult for her to talk about.

"I had to stop you! And I didn't stop to think about it, I just couldn't watch it happen to you anymore, it was like watching you fade away and it terrified me. So without thinking, I jumped up and knocked you over. I knew that I would be able to physically hold you down, but when I tried to talk to you, you just wouldn't listen."

She was becoming flustered, so in an attempt to calm her down I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I just wanted to let her know that everything was alright, and that nothing like that would ever happen again, I was going to control this thing.

"Sasuke, I kissed you for two reasons, one because I wanted to stop you from hurting anyone else, I needed to distract you from what was going on."

That wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, and I think she could see it on my face because she smiled again, while shaking her head.

"But the other reason was...because I wanted to..."

My eyes widened when she told me this, what did she mean by that?

"I really like you...Sasuke...I've always liked you but I know it's stupid! I know you don't like me back...you've made it pretty clear...but I can't help it. I'm sorry."

Sarah shook her head rapidly and tried to pull away from me but I pulled her back, cupping her chin in order for her to look me in the eyes. She gasped sharply and her cheeks melted into a beat red color, I scanned her beautiful face, my heart was burning at the mere sight of her. But what struck me was that she had tears in her eyes.

"Don't say sorry, you don't have to apologize for that."

I assured her, it just didn't make any sense, she was amazing and I didn't deserve her. She gulped and blinked a few times, I could see confusion in her optics, and a few tears escaped down her cheeks.

"I like you too, a lot more than I was ever willing to admit to myself. But I really care about you, and I was glad that you kissed me."

These words came directly from my heart, she meant so much to me, more than she could ever understand. If anything ever happened to her, I wouldn't know what to do with myself, I would never be able to forgive myself for not protecting her. Sarah didn't understand, and I could see it written all over her expression.

"But Sasuke...all these years, you stopped speaking to me, you didn't want anything to do with me...we were so close when we were younger. And now all of the sudden you're telling me that you really care about me?"

I sighed with a nod, I knew it was difficult for her to understand. I put this girl through hell, but I did care about her, she had to believe me.

"I know, I pushed you away because I cared about you. I was consumed by this hatred for my brother, my only goal was to find him and kill him, and I didn't want to drag you down with me. I thought that if I cared for you, it would only slow me down, or if someone found out than they would hurt you. And I couldn't let that happen, so I tried as hard as I could to ignore my feelings for you, but the truth is I really, really like you, I can't ignore it anymore."

I gently brushed away her tears with my thumbs, I hated to see her cry, and I didn't want to be the one to make her feel this way.

"I'm the one who should be saying sorry for putting you through all of this, but don't misunderstand me, I care about you, more than I care about anyone."

Sarah's lips finally curled into the brightest of smiles after a long few moments of silence, and the sight of her happy face actually caused me to smile in return. I hadn't smiled in years, not since before the death of my clan. Then again this girl certainly did have a way of making me do things I never thought I would.

"So we both like each other."

She stated and I nodded.

"What does this mean?"

Sarah asked me as if I had any idea, I had never been in this situation before, I had never been in a relationship with another person.

"It means we can do this."

I tilted her chin up and kissed her gently on her perfect lips, tasting her sweetness. I nibbled on her bottom lip before she allowed me access to her mouth and my tongue danced with her own. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pulled her against my body and she snaked her arms around my neck in return. I didn't give a damn anymore about hiding my feelings for her, I truly cared about this girl and I wanted her to know it, because I wanted her and no one else. Once we parted, she was blushing and I felt my own cheeks heat up as well, she pecked me lightly once more and I licked my lips, savoring the taste. Sarah held me tightly in her arms and leaned against my chest.

"You're heart is pounding, Sasuke."

I rubbed her back in a circular motion, I loved how she felt against me, so small and fragile.

"It's because I've been waiting a long time for this."

She gazed up at me with her gorgeous eyes and I kissed her forehead and then her nose, and then her lips. I was different when I was with her, she was everything I wanted in a girlfriend, which I never thought that I would have.

"Me too."

Sarah replied in a light voice, her eyes were filled with joy and adoration. I had never been happier than I was at this very moment, alone with her.


	18. Chapter 18

I gripped her hand tightly in my own, our fingers laced in front of everyone so that they could see what we were now. I tugged her closer to me and she giggled, it was my turn, the final phase of the chunin exam had begun and now was the chance for me to go up against Gaara.

"Sasuke, take your place in the ring!"

The new proctor commanded me and I grunted, but before I could do anything, Sarah pulled me over to her swiftly and planted her lips upon mine. She kissed me in front of our entire village, but we didn't care, even though I was quite sure my fan girls were going to be upset. Once we parted, I smirked and rose my eyebrows suggestively at her, she only laughed in return and warmly embraced me.

"Be careful, Sasuke, remember what Kakashi said about the chidori, don't overuse it."

She whispered to me, I simply smiled into her shoulder and kissed her ear.

"I will, I promise."

Sarah pulled away from me and smiled.

"I'll be over there, cheering you on, and you better win."

I chuckled and nodded, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to win, with a girl like her cheering me on, I had all the confidence in the world. I felt like I could take on anything. With one last kiss, she left the arena with Kakashi and went into the nearby tunnel that lead to the seats. But she just stood in there, wanting to be as close to the action as possible. I was sure she would be ok, the proctor would stop anything if it came to be too dangerous for the others around us.

* * *

My body wad frozen in place, a horrific chill running down my spine as I looked ahead at my opponent, only he wasn't the same. Gaara had transformed, or partially transformed into this insane looking beast. The entire right side of his body was different, one of his eyes was small and beady, his face was bulging out and his right arm was massive. He had huge, razor sharp claws and purple markings along his abnormally pale skin, what the hell was he?

"Sasuke!"

I whipped around when I heard her voice, Sarah had emerged from the tunnel and was coming straight for me. No doubt she over heard from Kakashi that this had gotten out of hand, this was no longer a battle to pass the exam, this was something completely different.

"Sarah, no!"

I screamed back to her, and when I turned my attention to her, so did Gaara. His large, inhuman arm extended towards her, grabbing and slamming her body into the wall of the arena. Sarah screamed out in pain, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, my skin drained of all color, and my heart fell into my stomach. She lifted her trembling arms and attempted to claw her way out of his grasp, but he merely squeezed her tighter and slammed her against the wall again. But this time she went limp.

"SARAH!"

My voice echoed through the stadium and everyone who was watching started gasping and wailing in terror. My entire body went numb as I looked at her mp body dangling in his possession. I promised that I would protect her and he had her, how fucking useless was I?

"She's a pretty little thing, isn't she Sasuke?"

Gaara's voice sounded demented and hostile, almost as if he were playing a child's game and he was winning.

"The moment she kissed you I could see how much you cared about her! It was written all over your face! Now I can only imagine what you might do if I decide to rip her little heart out!"

Drool was pouring from his lips, his eyes were crazy and full of fury. But the thought of him doing anything to hurt her caused my blood to boil and the curse mark to burn furiously on my neck.

"Don't you dare hurt her!"

"Too late, Uchiha!"

A horrible rage filled heat enveloped my body and I snarled darkly as he squeezed her frail body, blood sputtering from her mouth and falling over her chin.

"She's mine now!"

I clenched my fist, and the sharp chirping started sparking in the air, blue chakra began to form around my trembling hand. With all of my might I attempted to form the chidori, I was going to drill it right into his deformed little skull.

"Let her go!"

But before I could get to him, I heard a voice.

"Sasuke, don't!"

I recognized the voice as Kakashi and looked over to see him, he was approaching the arena cautiously, and our proctor was assuming his stance, ready for anything. But we needed to intense fire power to handle this one, he was different from the rest and I knew it.

"If you want her, come and get her!"

He suddenly jumped back, her body still dangling in his giant hand and he lunged over the giant wall of the arena, disappearing from view. I shouted out in fury, I couldn't believe I just let him get away with her, I couldn't believe these other supposedly tough ninja around me allowed it to happen too.

"I have to go after him!"

I snapped at my sensei without a second thought, my eyes were already red with the sharingan, I wasn't going to waste anymore time. Gaara could end up murdering her, and then she would be gone forever. I just got her and I couldn't lose her! Kakashi simply looked at me and then nodded, he wasn't going to even try and argue with me?

"Alright, track him, you're one of the fastest and we can't lose him. I think something bigger is going on here than we're aware of. Go find him and get her back safely."

He didn't have to tell me twice, the moment I turned in the direction he vanished, I could see the two other sand ninja that were on his team departing. There was something strange going on and I needed to find out, and get her out of there.

* * *

"CHIDORI!"

I screamed, forming the biggest chidori I could muster with the lack of strength that I had. I wasn't supposed to be doing this, the maximum of times I was supposed to use this technique was two, and I was going on my third time. But I had to, I didn't care what happened to me, Sarah was far more important and she was still trapped in his clutches.

I slammed my electric orb right into his face, but at that very moment it seemed to dissipate and the burning sensation in my neck started to increase. I called out in pain and landed clumsily on a nearby tree branch, holding the spot on my neck where the curse mark was. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to ignore the pain, I hadn't even noticed that the markings had spread across half of my body. Gaara was screaming in agony, half of his face was erupting with smoke and in an attempt to touch it, he lost his focus and dropped her. Sarah immediately went descending to the ground below and I jumped down, bouncing from branch to branch and catching her before she got hurt.

I landed on another branch and placed her carefully so she was leaning against the trunk of the tree and placed my hand on her cheek.

"Sarah!"

Thankfully, it didn't take long for her eyes to open, she had begun to come to when he still had her in his possession. Sarah coughed a few times, drops of blood spattering out from her lips and her chest heaved, no doubt she was in severe agony from when he practically crushed her. I sighed with relief that she was alright and wiped the blood from her chin, she weakly gazed up at me.

"Sasuke? You...you saved me."

Her voice was breaking and hoarse, I nodded and kissed her gently on the forehead. She lifted her hand and grabbed my wrist lightly.

"Sasuke, the curse mark!"

I looked down at my left arm and saw that it was covered in the black markings from before, I cursed under my breath and saw the horror in her eyes. I hoped that she wasn't afraid of me, but it seemed to me that she was simply more concerned about how I was doing.

"I know, but it's ok, it's under control."

I smirked to reassure her, but her eyes only widened as a dark shadow was cascaded over us both.

"Sasuke!"

I turned around swiftly only to find Gaara right behind me, he slashed at me with his giant hand and I grabbed Sarah, taking her to another tree branch and lying her down.

"Stay here!"

She merely nodded and I was forced to leave her, I didn't want to but I needed to finish this guy off if I wanted her to be truly safe.


	19. Chapter 19

Finally, the chunin exams had ended, and only one person managed to pass, Shikamaru. How the hell was that possible? However, I had been told by one of the proctors that I was already at chunin status when the exams were taking place, so I wasn't much concerned about it. For now I could simply have some peace and quiet, spend some time with the girl I cared about so much.

Speaking of which: I had been walking through the village all morning looking for her, when I noticed that she was sitting out on the balcony connected to her room. All this time searching and I never suspected she would just be sitting at home, I rolled my eyes at myself. From this distance she looked beautiful, sitting against the railing, reading a book with the sun glowed upon her skin and the wind danced with her hair. How did I get so lucky to have her? She was so much better than I was, and I was just glad that she was alright. I jumped up onto her balcony and stood upon the railing.

"Hey."

Her head poked up so I could see those amazing eyes, she smiled warmly at me and folded the book down, placing it on her lap.

"Hey, you."

I hopped over the side and went to go sit on the little bench next to her, my arm stealthily slid around her shoulders and I pulled her against me. Sarah leaned her head on my shoulder and snuggled close, she just seemed to small when I held her, it was adorable.

"You know, what you did at the chunin exams was really stupid, Sasuke."

I winced, I knew this was coming, Sarah hadn't had the chance to give me grief over the fact that I overused my chidori like I was specifically instructed not to. I couldn't blame her for being worried about me, she's seen what the curse mark can do and she only wanted to make sure that I was alright.

"I know."

There was nothing I could do but agree with her.

"Kakashi told you not to use it more than twice and you did it anyway!"

She hit me in the chest but not hard, I rubbed the back of my neck in shame.

"I only did it because he had you and he was going to kill you, I wasn't thinking clearly, all I knew was that I had to get you away from him."

Sarah glared firmly up at me, I could see in her eyes that she wasn't furious but at the same time I knew that she wasn't pleased with me.

"Something bad could have happened! The mark was halfway across your body when I saw you, you're lucky it didn't take over completely like last time!"

I sighed, I knew that she was right, but what could I do? It was in the past, I couldn't change it now.

"What do you want me to say? I couldn't let him hurt you, that was the only way I knew how to get you away from him. The moment he took you I was furious, I lost my focus and I'm sorry. But I would never be able to forgive myself if I let him hurt you."

Her expression softened significantly, I squeezed her against me slightly, I just wanted her to know that I cared about her and that I would do anything to keep her safe. She meant so much to me, more than she could ever understand, but I could understand why this was difficult for her. I was sure that it wasn't easy watching me lose all control like I did before, if I were in her position I would feel the exact same way.

"Just promise me it won't happen again. You can't afford to lose control anymore, that's exactly what Orochimaru wants."

The sound of his name caused a haunting chill to race down my spine, that man, he wasn't even human. He was some freakish snake demon that murdered the Hokage, he was after something, and for some reason it had to do with me. But I would be damned if he controlled me, I had too much to fight for, too much to live for. And in that instance I looked at her, thinking about how much she meant to me, how lost I would be without her. I leaned in and pressed my lips against her forehead, just holding them there for a while and closing my eyes.

"I promise."

I whispered to her as soothingly as I could, and never would I break a promise to her.

* * *

"You little bitch!"

My movements halted once I heard the harshness of a vulgar female voice, although it sounded familiar, which caused me to follow it. Rounding a nearby corner, I saw a small group of girls, and they were all glaring at Sarah. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and her lean frame was adorned in a beautiful red dress, her expression showed that she was not phased by these girls.

"How dare you steal Sasuke away from me! You little slut."

There mere sound of them calling her such horrible names gave me the incredible urge to end this conversation, but she was still standing there, holding her ground.

"I didn't steal Sasuke from anyone, he was definitely single when we started dating."

There was a hint of amusement in her inflection, and her rose colored lips curled upward into a devious little smirk. Sakura and Ino lunged forward, stepping ahead of the rest of the group in order to make themselves known and intimidate my girlfriend. Sarah only fiddled with her fingers, paying them no mind.

"You've always been a little attention whore, and you know it! You've always been after MY Sasuke and I want you to give him back!"

Ino snapped a glare to Sakura for a brief moment before turning her attention back to Sarah.

"Actually he belongs to ME, but either way it would be in your best interest to break up with him as soon as possible. He deserves someone better, someone who can satisfy all of his needs and make him happy! Which are all things you are incapable of!"

My jaw practically hit the ground at what these girls were saying, what mind set were they in? Where did they get all of this ridiculous bullshit? It was almost like they were from a different planet entirely, one where they had these sick fantasies about owning me. I snapped out of my trance when I heard Sarah laughing hysterically, I blinked and the others seemed to be quite surprised themselves. Sarah held her ribs, wiping joyous tears from the corners of her eyes before taking deep breaths in order to regain her composure.

"Wow, you girls really are out of your damn minds."

Each irritating fan girl squealed with outrage.

"You little..."

She held up her hand to shut them up, and it actually worked.

"Look girls, I understand that you might feel like you've been duped or cheated out of something you thought you were entitled to. But Sasuke doesn't belong to any of you, he doesn't belong to anyone, he isn't an object, he's a person. And last time I checked, trying to own a person was considered slavery."

Sarah chuckled at her own little joke and I couldn't help but muffle a laugh of my own, before covering my mouth in order to remain silent.

"You're insults and threats might have hurt my confidence when we were kids, but not anymore. I'm not afraid of any of you, you girls can't touch me."

Now that more people were finding out how strong she was, a lot of people didn't oppose her. It would be suicide to bring her into a physical fight, she was more powerful than anything I had ever seen.

"Sasuke means everything to me, and I really, truly care about him which is more than you girls can say. And you must be idiots if you think I'm going to let some petty insults get in the way me being with him. He and I are together, get over it."

I found myself smiling, alright, maybe she didn't need me to protect her all the time. Sarah was strong, witty and strong enough to take care of herself, but I would always be there if she needed me. When I felt the time was right, I came into view and stuffed my hands in my pockets.

"You girls should leave."

My voice was stern, I didn't want to speak to them, hear their voices, or even look at them. I was disgusted by the fact that they were so insecure with themselves that they had to attack my girlfriend, who was overall, better than all of them. Sarah's eyes widened at the sight of me, and the other girls said nothing and merely skulked away, embarrassed and ashamed of the fact that they looked so terrible in front of me.

"Sasuke? How long have you been standing there?"

I smirked at her and slowly advanced closer, she watched me curiously until I reached her.

"Long enough."

I mused, I found myself somewhat turned out by how she stood up for herself and our relationship, she was so strong, so willing to protect the people she cared about. I felt myself desiring her more than ever. Sarah arched her brow at me and then grinned before embracing me tightly around the waist, I let out a sigh of contend and wrapped my arms securely around her.

"That was really sexy how you stood up for us."

The sweetest of blushes cascaded across her unblemished cheeks and she shook her head at me.

"You're ridiculous."

"I'm serious."

I pressed with a chuckle, kissing her forehead warmly, and then trailing pecks down her nose and finally reaching her lips. She kissed me soundly in return, deepening it and gripping my shirt between her fingers.

"By the way, you mean everything to me too."

She gave a closed mouth smile as I whispered this into her ear, and she leaned against me.


	20. Chapter 20

Things had been pretty dull lately, Kakashi didn't have very many missions to give us, and the most exciting thing we had to look forward to was the cherry blossom festival. I wasn't very thrilled about it, festivals weren't really my scene but the village did it every year and since I actually had someone to go with this time, it made it far more appealing.

"So you're going to ask Sarah to the festival right?"

Naruto questioned me as he seemed to follow me endlessly through the village. Somehow, he had become far more tolerable since he saved our asses at the chunin exam. He deserved more respect than I gave him, though I would never admit it out loud.

"We're dating, I don't think I have to ask her."

It just seemed strange to me that I would have to formally ask my own girlfriend to the festival. Naruto shook his head at me, pursing his lips in disappointment.

"What?"

I snapped, why the hell was he looking at me like that?

"You gotta ask her, Sasuke."

"Why? She's my girlfriend, I think that makes it obvious that we're going together."

He glanced at me warily but the expression on his face still wasn't pleasing, there was something that he wasn't telling me.

"She should know we're going together."

"It's not about whether or not she knows, of course she knows. But aside from the fact that it would be a romantic gesture, I have half a mind to know that there are about four other guys that are thinking about asking her as well."

I grabbed his arm immediately, swiftly whipping him around to face me, he winced and yanked his arm out of my grasp. His skin drained of color when he took one look at me, pure anger boiled in my eyes.

"What guys?"

His large blue eyes blinked a couple of times.

"Well, there's Shino, Choji, Neji..."

Naruto gagged at the mere thought of that Hyuuga, he really didn't like that guy for the way he treated Hinata during the exams. Hell, I didn't like him either, he had this absurd superiority complex.

"But the biggest of them all is Kiba, he's had a massive crush on her since we were kids."

My eyes practically bulged out of my skull, that canine freak, of course he would be after her. I remembered when we were kids, he used to always be all over her, complimenting her on everything she did. That guy was googely eyed over Sarah, Naruto was right, they were going to leap on top of her the moment they found out about the festival. They didn't give a damn about whether or not she was in a relationship, they had an opportunity and they were going to seize it no matter what.

"Dammit."

"Told you, I suggest you do it quick too. The last time I saw her she was with dog boy."

I ground my teeth together and darted off, I had to find her before he tried to get any ideas. I was sure that she would deny him if he asked but I didn't like the idea of him all over her, trying to hit on her.

It didn't take long for me to find them, Akamaru pretty much lead me right to them with his obnoxious barking. The two of them were by the ramen shop and she was holding the puppy while he repeatedly licked her face and she laughed. Kiba was grinning ear to ear, I bet he thought he was pretty clever. When I advanced closer to the two of them, I could hear there conversation clearly and waited for a moment.

"Akamaru really does like you!"

I stuck my tongue out at the sound of his cheesy voice, she merely giggled in response.

"It's like whenever he smells you, he just takes off, like a little speed demon."

She stroked the dog's head and it calmed down momentarily.

"He's a sweet little guy, I just love him!"

Sarah smothered the dog in kisses and it wagged its tail furiously, Kiba inched closer to her, I noticed, he was going to be making his move soon. Taking the dog from her arms, her offered his sleeve so that she could wipe her face of the drool he left behind. She gladly took it and he straightened himself out, puffing out his chest to make himself look more manly.

"So, there was something that I wanted to ask you."

She swayed on her feet and smiled.

"Yes, Kiba?"

This was my only chance, he was about to ask her and I had to intervene.

"I was wondering if..."

"Sarah!"

I stepped out into plain sight and hastily walked towards them, Sarah turned her head to see me and smiled like never before, her face was simply glowing. However, Kiba wasn't so pleased, his expression quickly morphed into a scowl the moment he saw me.

"Hey!"

Sarah cheerfully greeted me, her face turning red, I didn't know why though. Kiba merely scoffed and rolled his eyes at me.

"Sasuke."

He grunted but didn't even look at me, I growled in return.

"Kiba."

My voice held just as much disdain if not more for the annoying male. Sarah glanced between the two of us, noticing that something strange was going on and placed a hand on my arm so that I would focus on her once more.

"What's going on, Sasuke?"

I looked at her and smirked, there was no way I could still be angry while gazing at her.

"I just wanted to ask you about something really quickly."

Why all of the sudden did I feel nervous? She and I had been dating for quite a few months now, there was nothing for me to be worried about. Sarah nodded quickly and turned back to Kiba for a moment.

"I'll be right back, ok?"

Kiba nodded slightly to her and she scurried away with me, apart from him so that we could get at least a little bit of privacy.

"What did you want to ask me?"

Her eyes were sparkling, and I couldn't help but stare dreamily at her for as long as possible. She was perfect, everything about her was simply...perfect.

"Sasuke?"

I was shaken from my trance and I took her hand, feeling her soft skin and laced our fingers together. I then placed my other hand on her cheek and kissed her fully on the lips, I didn't care who saw us or what they thought, she was all mine. Her lips were so soft and supple against my own, I smiled once we parted and she bit her bottom lip, blushing to the point where her face was completely red. But before I could say anything she captured my lips again, placing her hands on my chest.

"That was nice."

She sighed and smiled giddily, my heart was about to burst through my chest.

"Anyway, about what I wanted to ask you..."

Sarah nodded and her eyes pleaded for me to continue.

"I wanted to know if you would like to go to the festival with me?"

Her lips curled up to expose all of her pearly whites, she smiled like never before and started bouncing up and down slightly.

"Sasuke, I would love to!"

I grinned at her, she was adorable, was there anything not completely amazing about this girl?

"Great."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I embraced her in return, wanting to feel all of her against me, my favorite sensation.

"You didn't have to ask me you know, I just kind of assumed."

I shrugged, still grinning like a fool, she just had that effect on me.

"Well, I thought it would make you happy. Besides, I don't want any other people getting any ideas about you."

She followed my gaze to see Kiba, who was so angry he practically had flames erupting from his body.

"Jealous are we?"

Sarah smirked knowingly and my cheeks started heating up.

"Is it such a crime that I want you all to myself?"

She quickly shook her head and pecked me lightly on the lips, there was such raw emotion in her eyes it sent a shudder crawling down my spine. Sarah was the purest thing I had ever seen, so full of life, adventure and love, how the hell did I get so lucky?

"I love that you want me all to yourself."


	21. Chapter 21

Weeks had passed since the day I asked Sarah to go to the festival with me, and today was the day. I hadn't seen her all afternoon, but she let me know yesterday that she was going to be really busy with getting ready. She was getting together with Hinata to get their nails and hair done, and whatever else girls to to primp themselves up. Sarah was beautiful without all of the extravagant stuff, she didn't need excessive amounts of makeup and an evening gown to look gorgeous. But I was still looking forward to seeing how she looked, and to spending some time with her.

I had to get a suit, unfortunately, I always thought they felt pretty awkward. But the festival was always somewhat fancy, sure they had games and stuff to keep one entertained but everyone dressed up. Mainly I did it for Sarah, I didn't care about what anyone else felt, but she meant the world to me and I just wanted her to be happy. If only this damn tie wouldn't be so difficult.

I glared at myself in the mirror, trying to fix the tie which was the last item that pulled the look together, but no one ever taught me how to make one of these look good.

"Whatever."

I grumbled before hearing a banging on my door, I rushed to answer it, only to find Naruto standing there in a suit of his own.

"Ready?"

He was going with Hinata, the girl almost had a heart attack when he asked her. And since she and my girlfriend were getting ready together, we decided to all go as a group.

"Yeah."

I locked the door behind me and we ventured outside, the two of us walked side by side towards Hinata's house where the girls were getting ready. Again my gut twisted, I wondered how she was going to look, what kind of dress she was wearing. I was sure she looked immaculate either way. Once we came up to her porch, the knot in my gut tightened, I was never usually nervous about anything, but things were so different with her. She brought out a whole other side of me. Naruto knocked on the door and Hinata answered it, he smiled at the sight of her, she did look really nice.

"Come in! We're almost ready!"

She told us in her timid little voice and we headed inside. Closing the door behind me, I fidgeted awkwardly in the corner as Naruto admired and complimented Hinata on how pretty she looked, all the girl could do was blush, giggle and glance away. I waited until I heard a clumsy stumbling coming from down the hall, and Sarah came bounding into the room, attempting to slide her last shoe on. I blinked, resisting the urge to chuckle, however it wasn't too hard, because the moment she stood up straight and looked at me, I was entranced. Her hair was bouncing around her in curls with her bangs pinned back, she had a slender black, strapless dress draped over her perfect figure. And I simply couldn't help but notice the long slit that gave me a great view of her long right leg.

"Wow."

I gaped at the sight of her, she was more beautiful than I ever imagined. Everything about her was amazing, and again I couldn't help but wonder how I got so lucky. She started to blush furiously, probably because I had been staring at her this whole time and barely spoke a word. Finally, I snapped out of it, managing to compose myself in time to walk over to her, she bit her bottom lip and I cupped her chin, gazing into her glimmering eyes.

"You look gorgeous."

She smiled at me and my heart melted right at that very moment, I had never seen anything like her before. It seemed like every time I saw her, I fell harder for her.

"You look awfully handsome yourself."

I smirked and she glanced down at my chest.

"But your tie is just a tad bit crooked, my dear."

Of course, it was. I groaned a little and shook my head, displeased with myself because I couldn't do this one simple task. She giggled and started adjusting it on her own, I watched her with a smirk, the warmth that was comfortably settled in my stomach was spreading through the rest of my body. This wasn't like all the other times, it was much stronger now, and it had been like this for a while. Now every time I saw her I was overcome with a sudden nervousness, it was something I never felt before, it was powerful. My knees would go weak, my stomach would twist into knots and I could hardly breathe. I was never normally like this, this had only begun a few weeks ago, but it wasn't as if I wanted the feeling to stop. Because for a first time in my entire life, I felt like I was living, that there was something better out there for me. For the first time, I didn't feel like getting revenge against my brother was the only way I could achieve happiness. Sarah was all I needed, she was all I would ever need. Was I falling in love?

Once she was finished with my tie she looked up at me again, I swiftly wrapped my arms around her tiny frame and pulled her close to me, she squeaked and nuzzled her face into my neck.

"You seem really happy tonight."

I took in the scent of her hair and smiled to myself, appreciating the moment.

"Well, you make me really happy."

It was the most honest truth that I knew, I was falling in love with her, this was the first time I had ever felt this way about anyone. I couldn't believe it was happening.


End file.
